Take My Hand
by whatsunderneath
Summary: When Kirishima reached out his hand, it wasn't enough. Bakugo was still captured and was kept in the hands of the villains for four months. When he is saved after all this time, Izuku and the rest of Class A have to adjust to Bakugo who was scarred by what the villains have done to him. (Lot's of intense scenes. Dark content).
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all! So my favorite theme of writing that I like to do is "what if" fics and I was browsing through some MHA and noticed there wasn't a lot of what if fics on Bakugos kidnapping. So naturally, I decided to write one! Let me know what you all think, reviews are always welcome!**

 **Chapter One - We Almost Saved Him**

 **Song: Without You by Ashes Remain**

The plan should have worked.

It was full proof in the sense that none of them would actually have to fight the villains, Izuku knew they didn't have a chance. His brain worked a million miles a minute that night despite the fear that coursed through his body. It was full proof…

...at least it should have been.

Bakugo gritted his teeth, trying to look as intimidating as possible, knowing full well his fear was giving away his facade. They want to teleport him away to their other hideout, but there was no way in hell that was going to happen he thought to himself.

His fists clenched tightly, trying his best to keep his distance from the villains that surrounded him. In moments like this, All Might would be smiling in the face of danger. But he was busy with All For One. He knew he just had to hold out, hope that All Might Will think of something or other heroes will show up.

"Dammit," Bakugo cursed to himself. "I'm slowing him down. I have to do something!" He kept dodging their attacks, growing tired as the minutes rolled by. Twice tried to get him from behind, but he set off an explosion to avoid him by going over him. He landed on the ground, his foot sliding beneath him as he fell to his hands and knees.

Toga saw this and lunged forward with her knife, but Bakugo was quick with his quirk as he exploded the ground, crumbling it to distract her and get away. He's exhausted, but he grunted as he continued to avoid all six of his opponents. Unbeknownst to him, Izuku watched as he struggled to hold off against the villains. The green haired boy gulped back his fear as he began to formulate a plan on how to get Bakugo out of there.

Bakugo landed once again on the ground after evading another attack, his wrists aching from how much he was using his quirk.

"There has to be a way," Bakugo said determinedly. "I have to just hold out."

"It's no use, Bakugo." Shigaraki taunted, gesturing to the Warp Gate that was behind him, still activated. "You'll come with us now."

Suddenly, a loud explosion distracted everyone. Bakugo looked as his chest pounded wildly at the sight of a familiar ice wall formed in front of him. The chill of it was a comfort in this instant.

"Half and Half?" Bakugo thought to himself then. He looked up and saw in the moonlight his three classmates all soaring through the air. His eyes widened as he recognized them all, his red haired friend turning to him meeting his eyes.

"Come on!" Kirishima yelled out. In an instant, Bakugo roared as he let out two huge explosions despite his wrists screaming at him. While in reality it happened in seconds, it was as if the four of them saw this all happen in slow motion.

Bakugo's eyes lit up as his hand outstretched towards Kirishima's. Izuku peaked over to see Bakugo as his chest filled with hope. All of theirs did…

...Bakugo gasped as a knife thrown from below pierced his right shoulder. He felt himself choke on a metallic taste as he instinctively clutched the wound. He realized the knife was thrown so hard, the tip was sticking out of his shoulder. Kirishima's smile disappeared into fear as Izuku's eyes grew wide in a panic. Bakugo's momentum in that moment was thrown off. No longer moving forward, he felt the weight of himself start to take him back to the ground.

In that millisecond, Bakugo in his last attempt reached out with his left arm. Kirishima's throat hitched when he realized he couldn't reach him. Izuku acted quickly and threw back his left hand, tears threatening to spill as his fingertips just barely grazed Bakugo's. The spiky haired blonde no longer was able to mask his emotions. All three teens saw the fear in his eyes, the panic evident in his features. Bakugo's body fell back towards the ground, and he watched as Izuku screamed out his name similarly to the last time he saw him. He clenched his eyes shut as he crashed to the ground. He finally screamed after hearing a sickening crunch of his ankle.

"Young Bakugo!" All Might screamed, immediately sprinting to try and get to the blonde. But it was useless as he was once again stopped by All For One.

Bakugo gasped heavily as he pulled the knife that pierced through the back of his shoulder. He shakily dropped it on the ground as he clutched his broken ankle. He realized he was trembling as he pushed himself up to his hands and knees. In the middle of the previously blown away field, he looked up towards the buildings in the distance, able to see Iida, Kirishima, and Izuku in the distance.

When the three landed on the building in the distance, Izuku immediately turned back and tried to run to Bakugo. A strong pair of arms held him from behind as Izuku began to sob.

"No!" He cried out as his chest hurt. "I have to go back!"

"We've been seen Midoriya!" Iida screamed at him. "We lost the element of surprise-"

"We were so close!" Izuku wailed. He finally collapsed to his knees out of Iida's hold and was gasping for air trying to think. Meanwhile, Kirishima stood numbly as his body trembled. A voice in his head scolded him saying it was his fault. "I-I have to think. We-we can still-I can. I can I-I need to-"

"What in the world do you think you're doing here Kid?" All three teens turned to the voice, and Izuku sprang to his feet towards his sensei.

"Gran Torino!" Izuku tried to stifle back his tears. "I-we were-"

"Zip it kid and get out of here," Gran Torino warned. "We'll talk about this later." And in an instant, Gran Torino was gone. But Izuku couldn't leave, not without knowing for certain. Iida knew as well he couldn't force the two teens to leave, so the three of them peaked from the rooftop, begging that Bakugo could still be saved. All they could do was helplessly watch the events unfold below.

His ankle hurt bad. Bakugo clutched at it extinctively as he struggled to his feet. He felt helpless; as he tried to stand up, the light pressure on his right foot caused him too much pain. He let out another scream as he collapsed on the ground again. He looked up towards the building he last saw the others and and could see their faces.

"That was close," Twice laughed. "Nice aim Toga."

Bakugo heard the girl laugh as he turned on his back. He grimaced seeing all six of them hovering over him. His gritted his teeth as he used his left hand to activate his quirk in as threatening manner as possible.

"It's time to go, Bakugo." Shigaraki said calmly.

"Screw you ass hole!" Bakugo screamed. He knew that they weren't buying his menacing act, but it was all he could do. He couldn't show him how scared he really was, he didn't even want to admit to himself how bad this could be.

"There has to be a way," Bakugo almost pleaded with himself. "It can't end like this! It just can't!"

"Young Bakugo!" All Might called out again. One For All attacked him once again when suddenly, a blur started attacking the villains, knocking them away from Bakugo. His crimson eyes widened when an older man appeared suddenly in front of him, startling him.

"It's gonna be alright now kid, don't worry."

"You're too slow!" All Might called out to him.

" _You're_ too fast!"

In that instant, Bakugo let out that sigh of relief. Izuku's eyes filled with hope again seeing Gran Torino with Bakugo. They all felt that it was over; Bakugo was saved and that he was going to be rescued. But All For One had other plans.

One For All suddenly launched his red and black attack that All Might dodged until he realized he wasn't the target. His hit landed on the unconscious Kenji, using Forcible Quirk Activation: Magnetism. All of the Villains were suddenly thrown in through the Warp gate. All Might was even surprised that All For One was even throwing in Shigaraki. Bakugo watched numbly as the man pleaded with his master not to send him away. He thought that they just gave up trying to take him when suddenly, he felt something pierce through his shoulder through his already open wound.

Bakugo saw he was being thrown towards the warp gate. Panic set in as he heard All Might scream for him. Gran Torino rushed forward, but was stabbed by All For One's quirk. Bakugo clenched his eyes shut, his fear ridden scream threatening to escape his throat. Suddenly, Bakugo felt something grip his left hand. His eyes shot open and he saw Todoroki clutching his arm tightly.

"Don't let go!" He screamed at Bakugo. The blonde stayed silent, though any normal circumstance he would have shouted a snarky come back at him. Bakugo noticed that he wasn't being pulled in fully by the warp gate trying to pull the two teens in. He looked past Todoroki to see a rope tied to his ankle that lead back behind the same wall the others bursted out from behind.

But Shigaraki was still fighting back the warp gate too. His eyes grew wide in rage as he screamed in frustration.

"I won't fail!" The villain screamed as he gripped onto Todoroki's arm with all five fingers. Shoto's eyes widened as a blood curdling scream escaped his lips as his skin on his arm began to decay. His grip on Bakugo didn't loosen however, the boy refused to let go.

"Don't let go!" Todoroki scolded himself. "No matter how much it hurts, don't let go!" But the pain was growing, and Bakugo clenched his eyes shut knowing what he had to do.

"A true hero saves everyone," Bakugo thought to himself. "I can't let this bastard get Icy Hot too." He was terrified of the idea, but he couldn't take it anymore. He accepted his fate, and let go of Todoroki. With no grip on him, Bakugo slipped out of Todoroki's grasp pulling him and Shigaraki into the warp gate.

Todoroki crashed onto the ground. Clutching his arm, he looked up seeing nothing in front of him. He lay there numbly as All For One laughed in the distance. Watching the scene, both All Might and Izuku let out a blood curdling scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

 **I will update everyone! Please leave a review on what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! So glad you liked chapter one! So just a heads up, some of these chapters are going to flip from present day to the past. I'll try my best to illustrate when this flip happens. But essentially, the story is going to focus on the real rescue of Bakugo and then dealing with the aftermath. This chapter is REALLY long, but it's a lot of build up for what's to come!**

 **Hope you all enjoy! Please leave a review.**

 **Chapter Two - Aftermath, Life Without Him**

 **Music: So Cold by Ben Cocks**

"Make sure you studied for your exam tomorrow." Aizawa said in his tired voice. Class 1-A hasn't been the same for a long time, and the empty seat in front of Izuku didn't help but pull at that heart string. Aizawa turned to leave the class to their studying, fully aware that a certain green haired boy was staring somberly at the empty desk in front of him. As soon as the door to the classroom closed, Izuku opened his notebook and started scribbling his notes in his notebook.

Class 1-A was never the same since Bakugo's kidnapping, but they all knew that his disappearance had a huge affect on Midoriya. After the battle with All For One and All Might's retirement, All Might and Izuku have been working with the Detective Tsukauchi on leads concerning Bakugo's wearabouts. In the first month, Izuku went at his search alone, but when All Might found out, he thought it better to at least let him do this so he didn't endanger himself. But he didn't let the teachers know that he knew some classified information on Bakugo's kidnapping. And All Might especially made it clear that he wasn't to go on any sort of missions either. After the first rescue attempt, Izuku, Todoroki, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Kirishima were all suspended for a week, although Aizawa ensured them they got a light punishment.

During these four months, one thing all of Class 1-A saw was that Izuku didn't smile as much. He was still kind to people, but he was just numbly present. Uraraka especially missed it when he would mutter information about the quirks of heroes; he never paid attention to that as much. They all wished that he would go back to normal, and that Bakugo would return. Despite his temper and foul mouth, they missed it greatly.

As soon as Aizawa left, Izuku pulled out a black notebook that he got four months ago and continued his notes. Kirishima routinely got up and sat in Bakugo's seat, pulling out his phone; silently offering to help with Izuku's research. Kirishima didn't know that Izuku was working with All Might on his search, but learned not to ask questions when Izuku was in his thinking mood.

"I finished doing as much research as I can on all the villains that were working with Tomura Shigaraki," Izuku said softly to the red head. "Now that all of their backgrounds are in order, we could cross-reference their homes and see if there are any leads-I mean give it to All Might to go look for leads."

Kirishima frowned as he looked at the classroom door. He couldn't give up on Bakugo, and there were many days that he wished the explosive teen would walk right through the door. He helped Izuku in his research how he saw fit. He suspected that Izuku got his information from All Might, but never said anything since he didn't want to pry.

"I can't believe it's been four months," Kirishima sighed putting his head down on Izuku's desk. Izuku paused writing and the two began to reflect on that night. "It feels like it was yesterday." Izuku turned to the door to see Todoroki walk out, a pang twisting in Izuku's chest as the boy left.

"He still not talking to you?" Kirishima said softly. Izuku grimaced and went back to his notebook.

"He's not talking to anyone much really," Izuku tried. "Momo has been trying to get him to talk. But I know it's because he's beating himself up about what happened."

***FLASHBACK***

Todoroki crashed to the ground, clutching his arm that decayed because of Tomura. He looked up wide eyes and saw the gate was closed and no one was there. Once again, Bakugo was gone. Pain filled his chest when he heard All Might and Izuku scream at the sight. He could hear Dabi's words echo in his head:

 _Poor little Shoto Todoroki._

Once again, he was too slow to get to Bakugo. Too slow to save his classmate. Frustrated tears threatened to escape him, but he held them back at the sound of All For One's laughter. He looked back and was paralyzed by the intensity of All For One. Shoto felt helpless, the same way Stain made him feel. His thoughts were telling him that he was too weak to do anything.

"'Warping' plus 'Shock Inversion'!" All For One called out. Todoroki watched as he warped Gran Torino in front of All Might's punch.

"I'm sorry!" All Might called out, in deep pain from the shock inversion. Todoroki could only watch as All For One taunted All Might. The Symbol of Piece grabbed hold of Gran Torino and Todoroki had to brace himself as the pro hero went in for the punch.

"Detroit Smash!" He screamed. The wind blew rapidly, and Todoroki's foot slipped out of the rope he was tied to and tumbled back a few feet. Yaoyorozu, who was previously shaking in shock in all that happened finally snapped out of it when she saw Todoroki slip out of her rope.

"You negate the attack huh?" All For One exclaimed once the wind died down. Shoto looked up, seeing All Might spit up blood.

"This is really bad," Todoroki exclaimed. He looked back to where Yaoyorozu was still hiding behind the wall and saw the rope was a few feet away from him. "I just made myself vulnerable. I have to get out of here quickly."

Shoto went to stand when his left arm seared in pain. He clutched it, finally assessing how bad Tomura had got him.

"Heroes have a lot of things they need to protect," All For One sneered. Shoto looked up to see All For One staring right at him. "Don't they?"

"You always toy with people like that!" All Might roared. "You break them! Steal from them! Take advantage and control them! You already took one student whose goal is to be a great hero!" All Might suddenly launched himself forward and grabbed at All For One's left wrist. Everyone watched as All Might went in for another sickening blow.

"I CANNOT FORGIVE THAT!" He screamed as he pinned down All For One on the ground.

Izuku watched in tears as All Might pinned down the villain in the distance. It was hard to process everything, so much was happening. He had to concentrate on their current situation. He looked to Iida and Kirishima who seemed to be struggling with the same predicament. Izuku turned back to the field and saw in the distance Todoroki clutching his hand. Seeing him hurt snapped Izuku back into reality.

"Todoroki and Yaoyorozu are still down there!" Izuku snapped. "He's hurt and we need to get them out of there!"

"We can't just go running in," Iida warned. "That man has a powerful set of quirks. Did you see how he halted Gran Torino's efforts?"

"We need to do something," Kirishima tried. "We can't just leave them there!"

"I know we can't!" Iida yelled. "But what exactly can we do without distracting All Might?" Izuku then remembered All Might's time limit. He looked down to see All Might get blasted up towards a helicopter. Thankfully, Gran Torino caught him.

Todoroki could only watch as All For One began spouting words he knew were trying to get to All Might. Suddenly, the dark villain lifted up his hand, preparing a huge blast.

"Big one's coming!" Gran Torino warned as he leaped away. "Dodge and counter!"

"Not everyone is so fast!" He sneered, pointing his arm directly at Todoroki. His eyes widened at the intensity the blast was building up to. He knew that even if he went to run, there was no way he was going to dodge it. Not even an ice wall in time could block it, but with his left arm damaged, he wasn't sure he would've been able to make a huge wall in time.

Izuku gasped when he saw All For One point his blast towards Todoroki. His legs moved instinctively to try and run to Todoroki, but Iida held him back once again. Kirishima rose to his feet and the three watched in fear.

"Watch out!" Gran Torino called out, trying to make it to Todoroki in time.

"I will obliterate everyone you protected!"

"Todoroki no!" Izuku screamed.

In the last second, All Might jumped in front of Todoroki and held his ground to try and take on the majority of the blast. Grand Torino was blown away at the impact and Todoroki was barely able to hold on with how much force was made. Yaoyorozu yelped at the intensity as some of the wall that protected her chipped away. She looked up, seeing she wasn't hurt and mentally was relieved. But then she remembered Todoroki and looked out in a panic as the smoke cleared.

The three teens on the roof looked down, Izuku unable to hold back his fearful tears as he waited for the smoke to clear. They were all begging that Todoroki was okay.

The half white and red haired boy looked up and saw the smaller All Might standing in front of him, panting heavily on his feet. All Mights secret was finally out. The whole world watched as the Symbol of Piece in his weakened state stood there. The chants of the crowd ushering him to beat All For One, even as the Villain taunted him with the origin of Tomura Shigaraki.

"Fear not Todoroki," All Might called back to him as he forced his right arm bigger. Todoroki sat there in awe at the number one hero. "I'm not done yet!"

"I will defeat you!"

"Oh really?" All For One snickered as he rose higher in the air. All Might and Todoroki grimaced as he rose his arm once again pointing at their direction.

"There's no way he can still block that attack!" Shoto realized then. "What do I do?" All Might braced himself, thinking only of protecting Todoroki in this moment. He planted his feet bracing for impact.

"You have what? Two or three punches left?"

Suddenly, All For One was attacked by a whirlwind of flames. Todoroki and All Might gasped, recognizing them instantly.

"Are you serious?" Endeavor snarled, landing powerfully next to All Might directly in front of Shoto. "What the hell is going on with that weak little body!" Suddenly, edge shot appeared behind him, holding Yaoyorozu in his arms.

"Todoroki-kun!" She called out to him. Shoto relaxed seeing all these heroes ready to fight All For One.

"Get these two out of here," Endeavor said with a growl in his voice. "Dammit All Might!"

"Father." Shoto called out. Endeavor peaked back and met Shoto's eyes. It was a look he didn't recognize. There were so many emotions in them that Shoto barely recognized them in his eyes. He turned back to All Might fiercely.

"Stand up and show them why you're better!" He screamed.

"If the only reason you're here is to cheer him on," All For One scowled. "I'd prefer you to remain silent!"

"Think again mad man!" Edge shot screamed, throwing off the blast that was aimed at them all previously. "We are here to assist!" Suddenly, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu felt a large twig wrap around their waists as they were pulled backwards away from the fight.

"That's our jobs as heroes!" Kamui Woods called out, taking all the unconscious heroes and civilians away. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki could no longer hear what was being said by the pros and All For One in the distance, the wind blowing too rapidly to pick up on anything.

"Even you three!" Kamui called out, grabbing Izuku, Iida, and Kirishima on his way towards the city. The five of them being taken to the open hospital in the safety zones where everyone was evacuated to. It was during this time that Izuku was silently sobbing. The farther they got from the wreckage, the more he thought about Bakugo and the fact that he was gone. All five of them didn't say anything the whole way back.

"I know Todoroki blames himself," Izuku whispered sadly. "But to be honest, I think everyone blames themselves."

"Maybe you should try talking to him again?" Kirishima tried. "Maybe he needs to hear it from you again that you don't think it's his fault."

"The sooner we find Kachaan, the better," Izuku said, forcing himself to be cheerful about the situation. The two then continued to silently work until school was over and it was time to head to the dorms. Izuku hastily packed up his things and rushed out the door to head to All Might in one of the conference rooms.

Uraraka see's Deku leaving and rushes out the door to follow him with Iida close behind her.

"Deku!" She calls out as cheerful as possible! He hesitates, but forces a smile on his face. Uraraka lowers her head a bit, knowing the smile was a facade, but still approaches him.

"I was thinking, it's been a while since we all hung out, you know?" She tried cautiously. "Maybe...we could go watch a movie tonight?" Deku lowered his head, just staring at his feet.

"I would, but I have some studying I need to do," Izuku spoke softly. He looked up and met Uraraka's sad eyes and tried doing another smile. "But thanks anyways-"

"Well why don't we do lunch instead then right now," Iida interjected, pulling Uraraka with him. "We can all just eat and then we shall leave you to your studies in the evening Midoriya." Deku looked to the both of them, remembering the words exchanged at the police station after All Might's fight.

" _I was just trying to make sure everyone stays safe!" Iida scolded Izuku._

" _But we could've saved him!" Izuku sobbed. "I could've reached him! We could have gotten him back-"_

" _It was too dangerous in the first place. Villains were everywhere and there was no way I could let you put yourself in danger!"_

" _But they have Kachaan!" Izuku sobbed. The boy collapsed in the middle of the room, and none of the other four teens knew what to say or do._

Izuku knew that Iida felt horrible about what he did, and time has made Izuku understand his reasons. But all he thought about was Bakugo, and how he needed to help get him back.

"Just a quick thirty minutes can help give the mind proper nutrition," Iida said in a light manner, ushering both Uraraka and Izuku to follow. The brown haired girl was thankful that Iida helped get Deku to come to get food, but she still felt a pang in her chest. She wanted to help her friend, but she honestly didn't know how. Each time she tried to make him feel better, she knew it didn't actually help. "So where were you thinking of going Uraraka?"

"O-oh!" She said with a quick smile. "I was thinking that place that Deku likes? Or we can go try some ramen."

"I think Ramen would be a good choice. Right Midoriya?"

"S-sure," he said softly. "Do you guys mind if I stop by to see All Might first?"

"Of course, we'll go with you." Iida insisted. Izuku just nodded with a emotionless smile as Iida continued to try to make conversation with the two. Uraraka kept chiming in, but also constantly stared at Izuku. He acted like he was engaged in what they were saying, even there were moments that he actually spoke. But the two could tell that he was hurting.

As they approached one of the counseling rooms, all three of them could clearly hear people yelling in the room. Izuku cautiously went up to the door when it suddenly opened. The three teens froze when they saw All Might open the door. He hadn't noticed the three yet, for he was still looking at the staff who were in the room.

"I do not agree to this!" All Might yelled. "Think of young Bakugo!" At the mention of his name, the three teens froze and Izuku went pale.

"It's been four months and even after tracing back the leads on all the villains associated with All For One, nothing has been found," an unfamiliar voice spoke. The police cannot afford to use their resources on one missing boy when we have many other cases we need to work on."

"But the public will be furious if we announce that we aren't pursuing the kidnapping of Bakugo," Principal Nezu exclaimed. "The repercussions and questions around that will be devastating to the school. We could be shut down-"

"Not to mention the boy's parents," Aizawa snapped. "You're asking us to give up on Bakugo. Like it's a lost cause!"

"Send in heroes to the investigation!" All Might pleaded. "There are plenty of staff here alone who'd be willing to volunteer-"

"I volunteer." Aizawa exclaimed.

"All Might, you know the teachers need to remain at the school," The unfamiliar voice spoke tiredly. "And the other pro heroes have their own agencies to run. It's not even in their jurisdiction, it is a police matter to keep the investigation going. We can't keep wasting our time hitting dead ends."

"There must be something we could do!" All Might insisted. "I could-"

"You're avoiding the other possibility," The voice spoke. "It's been four 's officially a cold case. Every small lead we thought we found has lead us no closer to the league of villains than it had four months ago. And besides...it's more than likely that Bakugo has either joined them...or is dead."

"How can you say something like that-" All Might stopped when he turned his head and saw the three students standing numbly in the hallway. At the word _dead_ , both Uraraka and Izuku had tears streaming down their cheeks. Iida stood numbly as he barely fought through his emotions. The staff inside all froze when All Might finally spoke.

"Young Midoriya, I'm-"

Izuku couldn't take it. He couldn't believe what they are were saying. That they had to give up on Bakugo, making it a cold case. That they think he's a villain now or dead. Izuku could practically picture Bakugos wounded body from that night. He could picture his body motionless. Izuku turned on his heel and sprinted away down the hall. He felt his power surge as he used full cowling rush out of the school grounds; tears pouring out of his eyes.

"Deku wait!" Uraraka sobbed. She felt horrible for Izuku, but even she didn't take the news of Bakugo's case well. This was the boy that didn't hold back on her at the sports festival. The boy that seemed fearless and gave everything he got when it came to being a hero. There was no way that he could be...dead. But now the possibility seemed plausible and she couldn't stop crying for reasons she didn't fully understand.

Aizawa raced out of the room with all the other teachers and police officers in tow. He looked at his two distraught students and hissed at the lead detective Daido.

"We will discuss this later." Aizawa snapped. "Nothing has been agreed to."

"I expect you all then at my office tomorrow evening to finalize things." Detective Daido sighed. All the police left, except for Detective Tsukauchi who put a hand on All Might's shoulder.

"I'll do what I can All Might." He promised, then silently followed his colleagues. All Might then pushed past the rest of the teachers who didn't know what to say to comfort the numb Iida and crying Uraraka.

"Ai-aizawa sensei?" Uraraka finally forced out. All eyes were on the girl now. "Promise me you won't give up on him? You teach us every day that a true hero never gives up!" The teachers all gasped as they lowered their heads at the girls words. The tired pro-hero looked back towards the other heroes who seemed to all understand one another.

"Don't give up on Bakugo, please!" Uraraka choked out. Aizawa simply placed his hand on her shoulder, making her look up at the pro.

"We'd be a disgrace to heroes if we did that."

Izuku ran.

He ran to clear his mind with no destination in mind. He just didn't want to stop. He kept thinking of Bakugo and the tears couldn't stop pouring. He didn't want to accept it, he refused to. He finally slowed down and realized where he subconsciously ran to. It was the park where he and Bakugo would play as kids. They would play Bakugo Hero Agency; this just made Izuku sob some more. He looked up and saw his apartment building, noting that his house had the lights on. Izuku sprinted up the stairs, thinking of the one person who could make him feel better in this moment.

He made it to the door and knocked on it after catching his breath. The door opened softly, but then Inko Midoriya swung it open wildly and pulled her son into a tight hug when she saw Izuku so sad.

She didn't say anything, except just guide Izuku inside and brought him on the couch. Izuku just held onto his mother tightly, letting out all of his sadness into her. After what felt like a lifetime, Izuku sniffled and finally croaked out his words.

"Mom? Y-you don't think Kachaan is dead do you?" Inko just gasped and pulled her son away to meet his eyes.

"I've seen some pretty powerful heroes in my years Izuku," Inko said calmly. "But in all my years, watching you and Katsuki grow up together, I don't have a doubt in my mind that he is giving his best." At those words, Izuku just nodded and accepted her answer. Bakugo has to be alive, he has to.

Inko wanted to remain strong for Izuku, not fill up his head with too much hope so it gets burned down. The truth was, she honestly didn't know. Izuku spent the rest of the evening with his mom, she made him a nice meal and they talked about how school was going; doing their best not to bring up Bakugo. A while after, Izuku decided to check out his old bedroom. He saw that everything was exactly how he left it, except for the mail and a few packages that was left on his bed. He sat down just as his mom knocked and checked in on him.

"Oh, you got some mail, but I figured I was going to stop by UA and give it to you when I visited next!" Inko smiled. Izuku nodded as he put all the mail and small packages in a bag to go with some extra food. Inko kissed her son goodbye as he walked back to UA.

It took him about half an hour, but he finally made it back. He didn't really want to see anyone. He wasn't sure if news broke out about the detectives wanting to make Bakugos case a cold case. Thinking about that alone just made him sad and depressed.

He rushed upstairs, averting his eyes from everyone in the common room area as he went upstairs to his room. Among those who watched him hurriedly escape upstairs was the blue and grey eyed teenager.

Izuku plopped down on his bed, unable to help himself from crying more. As much as things had changed between him and his childhood best friend, he missed him terribly. He still cared about him, despite where they stood. He grew depressed thinking that he'd never see him again, and numbly started opening up some of his mail. It was a few letters from Kota who had been writing to him, admittedly those did make him feel a bit better. One of the packages was another All Might souvenir that he ordered a while ago but forgot he ordered.

A soft knock echoed on the door as Izuku went to open up the other package. Izuku hesitated before finally going to the door. He opened it, expecting it to be Iida when he was shocked to see Todoroki in front of him.

"T-todoroki," Izuku stuttered. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?" He said simply. Izuku nodded slowly, but offered him to come in. He closed the door behind him and the two sat on Izuku's bed. It took a minute for Todoroki to actually say something, Izuku nervously fidgeted with his fingers not knowing what to do.

"I-is there something you wanted to-"

"I thought you were furious with me Midoriya," Shoto said suddenly, catching Izuku off guard. "You said you could have reached him that night. I started to wonder if our roles were reversed, Bakugo would probably been saved already."

"Todoroki-kun, that's not what I thought at all!" Izuku said sadly. "I never blamed you or anyone for what happened, except for myself. I'm sorry I made you think that I was angry with you." Todoroki just nodded, feeling relief that he wasn't angry.

"I...I heard what the detectives said," he spoke cautiously. "Uraraka was crying about it in the common room and I overheard her when she was with the girls. You must know that the teachers at UA aren't going to give up on Bakugo."

"Todoroki-kun," Izuku hesitated. "Do you think Kachaan could still be alive?" Todoroki's expression was unreadable, Izuku gulped back his nervousness when Todoroki looked at the ground.

"I hope so." was all Todoroki could honestly say. Izuku understood, there were an endless possibilities on what's going on with Bakugo. But the idea of death was too much to handle. Todoroki saw Midoriya lower his head and he moved to stand up. "I'm glad we talked. I'll leave you to what you were doing."

Izuku hesitated, wanting to keep talking with Todoroki, but he didn't know what else to say. The half red and white haired boy felt the exact same way. Izuku sighed heavily, mindlessly opening up the last package when settling on the fact that Todoroki was leaving. Shoto had just put his hand on the door when he heard Izuku gasp.

He turned to Izuku, immediately on alert seeing his shaking frame. Izuku was trembling, the package falling out of his hands. Todoroki rushed forward as Izuku collapsed to his knees, trying his best to keep him steady. He peered into the box and almost collapsed himself at what he saw.

Inside the box was a cell phone, strands of blonde hair, a piece of black cloth that seemed to be drenched in blood, and a picture of Bakugo's face beaten to a pulp.

 **See yall next time! Let me know what you think, there is more to come!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAND I'm back everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Now we are going to shift gears so to speak. Brace yourselves though, this is going to be a tough one. Now remember, Bakugo is going to seem out of character because understandably, he has gone through a lot. But the flashbacks will show him more as the Bakugo we know. Fair warning. Goodluck**

 **Chapter Three - Agony**

 **Song: Lost in Paradise by Evanescence**

***Flashback***

Bakugo slammed onto the ground, instantly groaning at impact. He looked up, in shock that he no longer saw Todoroki in front of him. Or All Might, or the field he was previously on. He looked around to see the villains around him all unconscious except for Toga and Tomura. Tomura was panting heavily, scratching at his neck that put Bakugo on edge.

The teen began analyzing his options, and to his dismay there wasn't much with his leg being broken. The blood from his shoulder wound was finally catching up to him. He could feel his body getting heavier, and his adrenaline was dying down. Everything was hurting worse, but he had to think of something to hold out. Tomura finally stopped scratching, slowly facing Bakugo. The sickening look in his eyes sent waves of fear through Bakugo, though he would never admit to being afraid.

"You," he sneered. "You will become quite the ally soon."

"I already fucking told you," Bakugo growled. "I'm going to be the next number one hero! So screw you and your cause!" Tomura didn't like that answer, he struggled as he began scratching his neck again.

"I'll give you one last chance before you actually piss me off," Tomura snarled. "Work with us, not against us-" Bakugo had looked at his surroundings and knew he had to try his best to get out, so he used his explosions and blasted Tomura in the face, using it to fly down the hall away from the two villains.

It was the best way to make sure that he stayed off his foot. And despite the huge pain in his shoulder and his wrists, he kept moving forward, zooming through the hallways. He blasted through a wooden door and saw that he was in a huge warehouse looking building. There was a huge open space with a second story level that he could see. Two large doors were in the middle of the floor, and there was one door on each side of the walls. Bakugo took a chance and flew to the closest door to his right.

His wrists were aching, but he didn't care. Hell, he even thought if his arms were fractured, he'd still push forward as long as he got out of there. His arm reached out for the door to slide it open when suddenly, a large chain wrapped around his neck. The momentum of him moving forward caused him to choke, crashing on his back on the ground. A maniacal laughter echoed in the air as someone pulled the chain backwards towards him.

Bakugo struggled against the chain, trying to breath and pull it off at the same time. He even tried setting off small explosions to try and break the chains, but it was no good. Bakugo roared as he finally went to a stop, looking up at two new faces.

Both villains were males, and resembles a similarity that suggested they were brothers. One of them had deep slicked back blue hair with wild gold eyes. He wore a simple black trench coat that was zipped up to his neck. The other one, still with the deep blue hair was more wild, covering his face. He was shirtless but was covered with knives, guns, and other weapons. He cackled as he held onto the chain that restrained Bakugo.

"Thank you for retrieving him," Tomura said, coming into Bakugo's view. "I'm going to be busy dealing with important matters regarding Master. I need him to cooperate."

"Fuck you!" Bakugo snarled, trying to be as intimidating as possible. "Do all you want to me, you can't fucking break me!"

"Hmmm, he's a bit wild don't you think?" The calmer one said with a joyful grin. "He might need some time to break in."

"Do what you must. I have other things to take care of." Tomura said quickly, turning away from the three of them.

"Not to worry," The calm one said again with a chuckle, "he'll be broken in at a week tops."

"Screw you ass holes!" Bakugo snapped. "When I get out of here, you all are dead!"

"Such hope in his voice," The crazier one laughed. "He thinks he's gonna get rescued soon-"

"I don't need a rescue," Bakugo snarled as they began to drag him towards the metal doors that were on the ground. "When I'm through with you, you'll be begging for mercy!"

"OOOOOOH!" The crazy one gasped suddenly centimeters away from Bakugo's face. "The longest record we have of someone resisting us is about three weeks...but the bastard ended up killing himself!"

"Do your worst you hags!" Bakugo screamed once more.

"No matter what they do, you can't break!" Bakugo scolded himself. "Don't give in, just hold out and in a few hours, All Might and the others are going to help you escape. Just look for an opening and hold out! …I just have to hold out."

***Present***

The cold salty floor lightly burned at the scars on his back, but the blonde welcomed it for however long he could. The room was dark this time, and he couldn't tell if the wet sensation on his back was blood or the ice on the floor.

They felt like one in the same now to him.

The room was chilly, like how it always was. The two Fuzen brothers, while insane, were extremely smart. The basement beneath the warehouse as always at 60 degrees fahrenheit, making it impossible for Bakugo to sweat and use his quirk.

He didn't know how long he was asleep for, but it wasn't long enough. Fear was an emotion he used to suppress deep inside him...now it's a common friend that is always surrounding him. He hear the familiar grinding of metal, panic evident in his eyes. He shakily pushed his upper body up and tried to scoot as far back against the wall as possible. The large doors opened as Tomura and Buki Fuzen descended down the ramp.

Bakugo remained tense at the two coming towards him, but still couldn't stop his body from shaking. Still, he was thankful it wasn't the older brother with Tomura. Though he instantly regretted those thoughts as Buki ran right up and punched Bakugo in the face with such a force, he slammed back on the ground on his side.

"Good evening rat!" Buki laughed. Clutching Bakugo by his torn up black shirt, he pulled him back to his sitting position as Tomura turned on the lights. The blonde squinted trying to adjust when a slap connected to the left side of his face. He hissed realizing his left eye was probably black at this point.

"Smile rat!" Buki scowled. "You're friend might answer today."

"It's been a few weeks," Tomura sighed casually. "Maybe he didn't get the package after all. Still, all in good time, Bakugo." The blonde hesitated, but he forced himself to try and look as intimidating as possible.

"Whatever your plan is," He forced out. "It's not gonna work-"

"Still snapping rat?" Buki scowled as his fist connected with Bakugo's chest, making it ache once more. "You haven't been as talkative in a few months now. I thought for sure you dropped that a month ago? Oh well! Guess I'll have to work on that tonight!"

Bakugo coughed up blood, the motion making his chest ache. Tears swelled up in his eyes as he fought to hold them back. His body was trembling; he closed his eyes trying to drown out Buki's laughter that haunted his short dreams. Everyday at the same time, Tomura would come down to the basement and make a call. It never gets answered, so he just leaves Bakugo with one of the brothers and repeats the same cycle each day.

Its this action that Bakugo has gotten a better sense of how many days have passed. He didn't know who he was trying to call, and he didn't know what would happen if the person actually answered.

"Let's see if he answers, shall we?"

Izuku was sobbing.

Todoroki held onto him as he just stared at the picture in the box. It was without a doubt Bakugo. His face was covered in scratches and they both recognized the familiar looking decay marks on his shoulders and chest. Todoroki also noticed that Bakugo's stab wound from their attempted rescue night was still there. Both eyes were closed, and only seeing from the chest up, they couldn't tell if he was dead or alive in the picture.

But Izuku was already fearing the worst.

"Ka-Kachaan!" Izuku wailed, unable to form words as he clutched onto Todoroki. "I-is H-he d-d-dea-"

"There's no way to tell," Todoroki said, unsure of himself. He forced himself to snap out of his shock, pushed Midoriya away and held him at arm's length by the shoulders. "He could be unconscious. "Hey! Listen to me Midoriya! We need to turn this into the police for evidence. There could be fingerprints. An address that could link to wear he is!"

Izuku nodded and forced himself to gain his composure as best he could. He hesitated before picking up the cell phone in the box as Shoto reached for the black cloth.

"Th-this has to be from Bakugo's shirt." He noted. "There's blood, but I can't tell anything from it." Not hearing Izuku speak, Todoroki looked up to see him scrolling through the phone.

"9pm everyday," Izuku whispered, still trying to shake off his emotions. "An unknown number has called every day to this phone, but why?"

"It's 8:57 right now," Todoroki warned. "It might be the villains trying to call you."

"Me?" Izuku gasped eyes widened. "Why would they be trying to speak to me?"

"They sent this box to your address," Todoroki rationalized. "It has to be you. Midoriya, we should call someone. The Police or All Might-"

"No!" Izuku warned, now furious at the situation. "They sent this to me personally. I have to assume that if I tell anyone about this, they could kill Kachaan." Izuku's head began to swirl with possibilities on why the villains would send him this box and try to get in contact with him. Todoroki grimaced as he reached into his phone, hitting record on it, but keeping the phone in his pocket.

"I'm not leaving you Midoriya," He warned. "When they call, I'll won't say anything and remain silent." Izuku wanted to disagree, but he knew it was good that Todoroki was with him. His palms began to sweat, not knowing what he was going to hear or see when the phone call comes through.

"I'm…" Izuku hesitated, clenching his knuckles. "I don't know what's gonna happen Todoroki-kun." The red and white haired boy placed his hand on Izuku's shoulder, giving him a soft nod. They both were scared of what could come with the phone call. They didn't know the villains intentions. Everything could change once Izuku answers the phone...and they could finally find out if Bakugo is still alive once and for all.

9pm came. Instantly, the phone lit up that an unknown caller was trying to call them. Izuku gulped as Todoroki stepped back, covering his mouth as Izuku finally answered the phone.

"Finally!" The voice of Tomura rang through the air, sending chills through Izuku's spine. "I was beginning to think you didn't get my package-"

"Where's Kachaan!" Izuku snapped, desperation threatening to escape his lips. Tomura simply laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Now now, you don't get to make demands with me, Izuku Midoriya."

Bakugo's eyes widened at the mention of Izuku. He kept his head down however, knowing that Buki was still watching him. His brother, Kontororu, had used his mind quirk to dig into Bakugos past, informing the younger brother Buki of this information. So at the mention of the name, Buki snarled, leaning close into Bakugo's ear. He breathed heavily and unevenly, Bakugo immediately closed his eyes and tried to hold back his gulp.

"Izuku Midoriya?" He cackled. Bakugo remained still as Buki laughed.

"I need a meeting with you," Tomura said calmly. "Very simple."

"And why do you need to see me?" Izuku said fiercely, clenching his fist. "If you want to hurt me, you had your chance back at the mall."

"I didn't think you'd be this big of a problem for me," Tomura snarled, scratching his neck ferociously. "But everything I do, you always just show up!"

"Tell me what you've done with Kachaan!" Izuku yelled growing impatient. Tomura snapped out of his ranting, smiling beneath his fathers hand.

"He's alive for now." Tomura sneered. "And if you want to keep it that way, I suggest you meet my demands." Izuku looked up and met Todoroki's eyes. The boy simply nodded, motioning for Izuku to continue.

"What are your demands then?" Izuku challenged on the other end of the phone. Tomura smirked as he turned his back to Bakugo, who winced as Buki crouched close.

"Simply meet up with me Midoriya. Turn yourself over to me."

"What?" Izuku gasped. Both boys in the room gasped at Tomura's offer. "Why would I ever join you? I could never-"

"Oh you would," Tomura chuckled. He turned back to the blonde in the room. As he inched closer, Bakugo tensed as Buki backed away. The insane villain had to hold back his laughter watching Bakugo. The teen clenched his jaw tight as Tomura kneeled down to his level. Bakugo held his breath, it was all he could do to stop his body from trembling.

"You would to save Bakugo." Bakugo's eyes widened at his words. He couldn't imagine what Tomura would do to Izuku if he was in his hands. He didn't like the look he gave Bakugo either, it made the young teen nervous. "I'll give him back, alive. In return, you come to me."

Izuku fell to a sitting position on his bed. His body was shaking, he couldn't pass up an opportunity to save Bakugo. But there was no way he could turn against everyone and join the villains...but Bakugo...

"I need proof," Izuku forced out angrily, avoiding Todoroki's stare. "Prove to me that Kachaan is alive!" Izuku heard a laugh right before the phone disconnected from the call. Izuku's blood was boiling.

"WHERE'S KACHAAN!"

"Midoriya!" Todoroki yelled, he moved to the green haired boy, but stopped when the phone began ringing again. The both hesitated, seeing that it was a video call. Izuku gulped, meeting Todoroki's eyes finally. As much as he didn't like the situation, he too wanted to make sure that Bakugo was really alive. He nodded to the other teen as Izuku nervously answered the call.

 _I need proof._

Bakugo could barely hear it, but there was no doubt the voice on the other end was Izuku. He hadn't heard that voice in so long, his mind flashed back to the night he last saw Izuku. He kept screaming his name, eyes desperate to save him. His thoughts were interrupted as Tomura hung up, and Bakugo felt an anger that made his blood boil.

"Don't think for a second that Deku will ever-"

His words were silenced as Buki lunged forward, pulling him by his shirt closer to him. Bakugo's anger was replaced by the all too familiar sensation of fear as Buki snarled inches away from his face.

"Behave rat," He growled. "Or I could have big brother join us tonight." Bakugo trembled, his body aching with every move. Tomura simply sighed as he stood up, and began tapping on his phone.

"Make sure to smile for him, shall we Bakugo?"

Bakugo grimaced as he saw the phone point at him. He looked down, not wanting to look knowing Izuku was watching. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. He felt so weak and helpless, but to have Izuku seem him at this state…before he would've been angry. But all he felt was shame and fear. He heard the phone answer, Izuku yelling clearly.

"Midoriya," Tomura sung. On the other end, Izuku let his anger rise. "You seem to be doing well-"

"Where. Is. Kachaan!" Izuku said angrily.

"So impatient," Tomura smiled as he rotated the phone. Bakugo heard a gasp as he lowered his head further, clenching his eyes shut. Izuku's jaw dropped seeing Bakugo so beaten up. At seeing Izuku's eyes water, Todoroki peaked from behind making sure he wasn't seen in frame. He had to stifle a gasp, bringing a hand to his mouth seeing Bakugo so beaten up.

It honestly looked worse than the picture. The black shirt was torn to shreds showing blood, decay marks and other concerning wounds. His hair was no longer spiky, just wet covering his face, and his shoulder wound seemed to be infected from Todoroki's observation. He also seemed to lack his muscles and hadn't looked like to have eaten anything. Izuku felt his eyes water, gulping as he held back his tears.

"K-Kachaan?" Izuku called out worriedly. "Kachaan c-can you hear me?"

Bakugo kept his eyes shut, refusing to look up. The chill of the freezer making his body shake even more now. Buki growled sadistically seeing Bakugo remain unresponsive. He leaned into frame, making Izuku almost panic seeing Bakugos reaction to the mysterious man.

"Move rat!" He snarled. "Show the kid you're alive." Bakugo remained still, clenching his jaw tight. Buki growled as he reached for Bakugos hair, pulling it back forcing him to look up. Bakugo let a yelp escape his lips as his head lifted. Izuku gasped again finally seeing Bakugo's face. He and Todoroki saw the black eye, a red mark that wrapped around his neck, and many cuts on his face. Bakugo was shaking as he struggled against Buki's hold, trembling as he kept his eyes shut.

"Not cooperating today is he?" Tomura sighed lazily.

"Guess I'll have to make him cooperate then." Buki threatened. Bakugo clenched his fists as he braced for the unknown torture method Buki was going to inflict.

"Stop touching him!" Izuku screamed as angry tears finally spilled. Todoroki struggled to keep his own composure. At the sound of his scream, Bakugo opened his eyes. He saw that a knife was by his throat and grimaced at how close it was. Buki simply laughed at the exchange, making Izuku even more angry.

"I SAID STOP TOUCHING HIM!"

Bakugo's crimson eyes shot up and he looked at the phone screen in front of him. Izuku's angry expression changed to shock when his eyes finally locked onto Bakugo's. Bakugo hadn't seen his childhood friend in so long, he couldn't help but feel better seeing him. But the moment was brief remembering what Tomura's intentions were with Izuku. He sucked in a breath, knowing what he was about to do would have heavy consequences.

"Kachaan," Izuku said softly as slow tears streamed down his cheeks. "I-it's gonna be okay, I'm here-"

"Don't believe a fucking thing he says Deku!" Bakugo screamed. Izuku noticed that his voice no longer had his viper sting to it. His eyes were panicked and he could clearly see the fear in his eyes. "It's a trap! Don't come Deku-"

Tomura snarled as he reached forward, he placed his entire palm on Bakugo's chest. Bakugo's eyes widened before clenching them shut. A blood curdling scream escaped his lips as his skin began to decay from his chest. Buki laughed as Bakugo screamed, tears escaping his eyes. His throat ran dry, but he could hear Izuku and Tomura screaming at each other through the phone.

"Do we have a deal Izuku?" Tomura snarled through the phone. "It's you, for your pathetic friend!"

"I accept! I accept just let him go!" Izuku screamed watching Bakugos skin decay. Todoroki had to back away from the phone, his flames barely contained as his anger boiled "Let him go I'll do anything!" Tomura laughed when he finally released his grasp, Bakugo collapsed onto the floor gasping for air.

"Kachaan!" Izuku called out. "Kachaan answer me!" The empty screen rotated to see Tomura's face.

"You leave tomorrow," Tomura said calmly. "I shall expect you to follow my directions when I give them to you. And you better be alone. If I suspect you're not, then Bakugo dies!"

"Fine!" Izuku shook his head as his voice cracked. The tears stinging his eyes. "Now show me Kachaan again! Don't lay another finger on him!"

"I never agreed to those terms." Tomura chuckled. Buki took this as his cue and used his quirk to make chains. Izuku heard this sickening laughter and clutched the phone tightly. "I only assured you he'd be alive. But why deny him his fun?"

Tomura motioned to behind him. Izuki watched as he saw Buki spout chains from his hands. Buki swung the chain that wrapped around Bakugo's throat. The teen gasped, instinctively trying to loosen the chains knowing full well it was useless. Bakugo tried making his palms explode, only small sparks barely emanating from his hands. Buki pulled Bakugo up, he feet barely touching the floor to which Izuku saw that his foot looked still broken.

"Time for some fun rat!"

The last thing Izuku saw was Bakugo's eyes grow wide before Tomura blocked his view.

"See you soon Izuku." Tomura said slyly before the call disconnected.

"Kachaan!' Izuku called out. He tried calling back, but the phone was set up to not be able to make any calls, only accept them. Izuku finally crumbled and sobbed, and Todoroki was in shock. They both were too stunned to move, at least Todoroki was until Izuku finally forced out his next words.

"They win." Izuku said defeated. Todoroki shook his head.

"No they haven't," Todoroki tried to reason. "We can trace the call to a location when he contacts you tomorrow-"

"They'll know!" Izuku said defeated. "Any move I make, they could kill Kachaan if it's the wrong one." Todoroki didn't say anything, knowing the risk was too great to take.

"I know what I have to do," Izuku said, looking up at Todoroki as tears continued to fall. "I'll trade myself for Kachaan."

 **THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS AND FOLLOWS! There's a lead up for what's to come everyone! Just a heads up, the next update will be on 9/16 cause school is going to be a bit hectic. Thank you all so much! Let me know what you all think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really glad ya'll are liking this "what if" fic. There's going to be quite a few dark moments for Bakugo in this one, so be prepared. And again, the events that take place are gonna make him different than he is in the manga/anime due to what he endures. Enjoy this chapter, it's a lead up to the huge moment to come!**

 **Chapter 4: The Plan**

 **Song: Breath by Breaking Benjamin**

Bakugo didn't know how long he was out for, all he remembered was Buki using his quirk to make a whip. He remembered being strung up by his wrists in the air, trying to put all the pressure on his non-broken foot. His mind was groggy, not sure how long he was out for. He noticed that he was still tied up the same way, the chill of the freezer stinging his new scars on his back.

At the familiar sound of the door opening, Bakugo tensed immediately, gripping the shackles tightly. His body was shaking even more now, he clenched his eyes shut not knowing which brother was entering.

Buki Fuzen

His quirk, Weapons.

Buki is able to make any sort of weapons he pleases as long as he has that same weapon tattooed on his body, making it easier to replicate and use.

His older brother, Kontorōru Fuzen.

His quirk: Mind Possession.

By touching his opponents forehead, he could alter their current reality for as long as as he has his hand on their head.

It was either those two, or Tomura himself, but that hadn't been too often Bakugo noticed. It was hard for the teen to stay awake sometimes, but the unknown of which brother is entering the room set his teeth on edge. He heard running footsteps, a trait most used by the younger brother. Bakugo's breath started to hitch as the steps rapidly came closer, and he went into a full blown panic went he felt two hands cup his cheeks.

"Stop!" Bakugo yelled out. He tried sounding threatening, but his voice revealed the truth. He was terrified. He tried pulling away, until he heard the familiar whimper.

"Kachaan."

Bakugo's eyes flashed wide open when he heard the crack in his childhood friends voice. His crimson eyes slowly looked up in shock seeing Izuku standing right in front of him. His green eyes were watery as he struggled to remain calm. His rescue training struggling to be used seeing Bakugo in such a state.

"What have they done to you?" Izuku whimpered. Bakugo felt his stomach swell up. He gritted his teeth, trying to recall the anger he felt towards his childhood friend. But it's been months, and instead of feeling that anger and frustration, it even surprised himself the relief of seeing him.

"D-deku-"

"Don't talk Kachaan," Izuku said worriedly as he snapped back into professional mode; though his emotions were still showing. "I'll get you down now, just hang on." Izuku went straight to work on the first hold on Bakugos right hand. Using one for all, Izuku snapped the chain off. Even though the cuffs were still around his wrist, Bakugo was in fact free. His body was exhausted, Izuku put his arm under him to support him while getting the other cuff broken.

"Deku," Bakugo stammered out, trying to catch his breath. Izuku was fully supporting his body. "It's a trap. It has to be, Shigaraki-"

"Already on it Kachaan," Izuku assured as the two made their way up the ramp. "The pro's are here. I just had to make sure that we got you out."

"N-no!" Bakugo forced out, pushing himself out of Izuku's hold. He stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor, the green haired boy tried rushing over to help him.

"Kachaan-"

"Stay away from me!" Bakugo snapped, inching away from Izuku. "How do I know you're actually fucking here!"

"Kachaan it's me!" Izuku pleaded, but the boy couldn't stop his eyes from watering seeing Bakugo in this state. "You're going to be all right I promise! I am here!"

Bakugo winced at the words. He could see that Izuku had been training, his never give up attitude shining through. Bakugo could feel his emotions creeping out, but he couldn't break here. He has to be strong, the explosive teen everyone knew. But he was also exhausted. His eyes welled up as he meet Izuku's green ones. Izuku hesitated as he moved closer to Bakugo, reaching out his hand. Out of pure instinct alone, Bakugo slapped it away, but Izuku felt no power behind it. He tried once more, his eyes pleading as tears streamed down his face. Bakugo gulped, barely moving an inch forward to which Izuku noticed and smiled.

A dark blade pierced Izuku from behind. The boys eyes went blank, as the crimson red ones watching widened in horror. The body fell to the floor, and Bakugo began to tremble hearing the familiar dark laughter echo in the room. His eyes closed, then reopened to find that he never left his chains he was tied to. Bakugo felt his eyes well up as his throat burned; he let out a huge scream realizing it was all a lie.

"Aww," The sinister voice tensed immediately upon hearing the voice. "Too much for you?"

"Don't-" Bakugo whimpered, but immediately regretted. During his months with the two torture brothers, he'd been conditioned to listen to them, much to his initial hatred and refusal in the beginning weeks. But Kontororu already heard the word escape his lips. The oldest brother finally stepped in front of the teen. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, Kontororu pulled his head back, smirking as Bakugo refused to meet his eyes.

"Did you just talk back to me?" He snarled. Bakugo refused to open his eyes, but that just pissed off the villain even more.

"Look at me," The dark raven haired man said calmly. But Bakugo knew that wasn't good sign. The teen forced himself to look up, the man's piercing golden eyes. Bakugo gulped back the fear that creeped up, his hands grabbing at the chains that dangled him from above. The villain leaned forward, making Bakugo wince at the action. "Looks like I need to keep teaching you obedience."

"He wanted to shout insults. Hell, his first two weeks, he felt brave enough to do just that. But the beatings, the endless torture, Bakugo figured keeping quiet was a better option as long as he held out. But new emotions of fear and feeling small were more common than his ferocity that used to be there. And right now, he couldn't stop himself from shaking. The teen recognized the sinister look in the man's eyes.

"Say yes, Rat." The man said calmly. Bakugo held his breath. Kontororu reached forward, his other hand on his head now. This part of the mind manipulation quirk had such an unpleasant feeling whenever Bakugo was put under it. When he can't see Kontororu place his hand on Bakugo's forehead, it's hard to be able to tell what's reality and what's not.

But this was Kontororu's favorite spot to take Bakugo to, and the teen began to hyperventilate seeing the dark room. It had chains on every wall, and the floor was just a giant mat all on the floor. Look wise, it wasn't as horrible as the torture room Bakugo was always stuck in. Bakugo wanted to throw up, he felt so small when suddenly, Kontororu pushed him onto his back. The chains automatically wrapping around his wrists and ankles. Bakugo gasped when he saw Kontororu hovering over him again.

"Say yes, Rat."

In the normal world, all anyone saw was Bakugo, still strung up by his wrists in the basement. Konotroru had his eyes closed, his hands still on the teen's forehead. But the events that played out in Bakugos mind, thanks to the villains quirk…

...All you saw on the outside world was tears streaming down Bakugos face, until the screams started ripping from his throat.

***Elsewhere***

Izuku, according to everyone, was acting extremely strange. To class 1-A, it was actually really uncomfortable seeing him try to act chipper like his normal self. By the next day, everyone was fully aware of how the police wanted to call off searching for Bakugo. They all were worried about Izuku, so seeing him act happy was off putting.

Aizawa ended class, and hurried out the door. Most of the students assumed to try and stop the police from calling of the search for Bakugo; but the pro didn't say anything to the class specifically. Aizawa asked Uraraka and Iida not to say anything, but it couldn't be helped that it got out due to Uraraka crying and the girls trying to console her last night. Still, Aizawa refused to say anything until the matter was certain, and he wasn't going to give up on Bakugo. He has a duty as his teacher to do right by him.

Kirishima hurried over to Izuku to try and do more research as routinely done so, being cautious on Izuku's feelings. He glanced up to see that Todoroki once again walked out of class without a glance back towards Izuku. The spiky red-head frowned, looking over to Kaminari who just nodded in reassurance. Class 1-A spoke quietly amongst each other, but all tried to listen in to Kirishima's words.

"Still no talking with Todoroki?" He asked cautiously. Izuku shook his head as Kirishima tried to reassure him. Izuku could vividly hear last nights argument with Todoroki. "He probably needs more time, he'll come around."

" _I have to do this! For Kachaan!" Izuku said defeated._

" _Midoriya, there's always another way!" Todoroki tried to plead. "We can let the pros know and they can go to the hideout in your place-"_

" _I agreed to go alone! If they suspect I'm not alone, they could kill him-"_

" _They could kill you!" Todoroki snapped. Izuku winced, meeting Todoroki's eyes. Both teens were at a loss for words. Shoto scoffed trying to recollect his thoughts. "There's another way we could do this-"_

" _This is the only lead I have to find Kachaan," Izuku pleaded as his eyes welled up. "It's been four months. I can't give up this chance to save him. You saw how he was, he's hurt. I can't live with myself knowing he's suffering and I had a chance to save him from it."_

" _We will find a way-"_

" _I can't know!" Izuku turned away from Todoroki, the tears escaping him freely now. "It's too big of a risk. There's no way, I can't jeopardize this chance. I'm sorry."_

"How are you feeling buddy?" Kirishima asked with a smile. Izuku just nodded enthusiastically, snapping out of his thoughts. The green haired boy pulled out his notebook, writing down random information that they both already knew.

"I think I could be onto something," Izuku muttered, trying to not throw off anything or cause suspicion. "If only there was more information on the side villains, but it's hard to come by with the police not releasing a lot of info publicly." Izuku tried his best to do what he did for the past four months, all the while not trying to give any suspicion that he was to leave tonight…

...to trade himself for Bakugo.

Kirishima sighed as he got silent nods to push a it harder on the sensitive topic.

"Midoriya," Kirishima sighed. "We all know what the police said yesterday. And while I don't think the teachers will jus allow the police to just make the case cold...maybe we should...I don't know...help fight to keep the case open instead of, looking for clues on where Bakugo might be for now." Izuku stopped writing, lowering his head. It was hard for him to act defeated when he knows of how to save Bakugo in the long run.

"I can't give up on Kachaan," Izuku stammered. "What if I miss something if I stop now? Plus, we could kill two birds with one stone. You could help get information to help keep the case open, I'll look into more files on possible locations to where Kachaan would be!" He was hopeful, Kirishima thought too hopeful given the circumstances of what was said yesterday. He lowered his head, not knowing Izuku's truth, just nodding at his words.

"Whatever you say Midoriya," He said with a sad smile. "It's real manly of you. Not giving up."

They went on the rest of the afternoon how they normally would until they parted ways leaving the school to walk towards the dorms. Uraraka waited til Izuku was in the hallway to pull him aside.

"Deku, wait!" Uraraka called out. Izuku hesitated, not sure if he could lie to the brown haired girl. Still, he turned on his heel and faced her. Her eyes were pink; due to her crying all of yesterday. Uraraka clenched her fist and met Izuku's eyes.

"I know you're hiding something." She said calmly. Izuku went rigid, his palms beginning to sweat that she knew what he was going to do.

"W-what are you talking about-"

"Don't lie to me Deku," She pleaded. "We're friends right? You know that it's okay to tell me right?" Izuku didn't know what to do. He felt horrible lying to her. All he could do was look down. He didn't know if after today, he would ever see her again. He's giving up his life essentially for Bakugo's. Of course, he's going to try and escape with Bakugo, but the odds are slim on his part of not knowing which villains are still with Bakugo and if more are there still. He gulped back those thoughts and stared only at her.

"I can't lie to you, Uraraka." Izuku said meekly. He finally turned to her, telling her the half truth. "The truth is...I'm devastated. I'm trying to be positive, but...I don't know if Kachaan really is-"

His muttering was interrupted by a hug from the gravity girl. Izuku's cheeks burned as Uraraka held onto him tight. He hesitated before holding onto her as well, his tears flowing freely. She had a hand on the back of his head and the other clutching onto his back. Izuku started questioning if this really was going to be the last time he was going to see her. But he knew he couldn't do anything that suggested something was going to be off. Her own eyes watered when they parted, Izuku taking a few steps back away from her.

"Thank you, Uraraka." Izuku smiled, the girl just nodded. Izuku simply turned on his heel and hurried off towards the counseling center to meet with All Might, as routine. Uraraka watched with a sad smile, before hurrying off as well. Izuku made it just as All Might finished making the tea.

"Young Midoriya," All Might said as cheerful as he could. "I also have some lunch packed for us as well. I'd thought we could eat real quick."

"O-oh," Izuku said surprised. He sat down taking a sip of his tea as All Might watched, worried about his mental state.

"I don't mean to keep you All Might," Izuku hesitated. "I-I know you have that meeting tonight."

"Look kid," All Might tried assuring Izuku. "Nothings set in stone yet. We will get this cleared and we will keep the case open. I promise." The two sat across from each other, and All Might felt bad that Izuku seemed so down. But Izuku, had to keep up the act. If All Might even suspects anything wrong, he won't be able to leave. Not without All Might trying to stop him. He knew he was being reckless, but he hoped that his plan would pan out.

"Thank you All Might." Izuku said with a sad smile.

Thankfully, he couldn't stay too long since All Might had his meeting with the rest of the heroes and police. Izuku walked calmly to the dorms and went silently to his room. He took this time to get changed into some athletic pants and a t-shirt. He couldn't just leave in his hero outfit, he'd draw way too much attention. Izuku paced around the room until 9pm finally came. He wasn't as nervous as before, but when the facetime call appeared, Izuku began to fear the worst for Bakugo.

"Hello Izuku," Tomura slurred, his face the only thing in frame. Izuku grimaced as his frustration began to get the better of him. "Good to see you again-"

"Where do I have to meet you?" Izuku snapped. "And I need to see Kachaan-"

"A deal's a deal, Izuku Midoriya," Tomura sighed uninterested. "I have to say, you were pretty convincing to your other classmates that you were 'oh so broken' over Bakugo here." Izuku grimaced at his words. He was wondering if Tomura had taken precautions to see if he was being watched after the call last night.

But now knowing that he was being watched all day, proved that there really must be a mole in UA working for the villains. Izuku shook off his thoughts and leaned closer to the screen.

"Show me Kachaan!" He ordered again with a whisper. Tomura made a tsk sound, growing irritated at Izuku.

"So impatient." He snarled as the camera showed Bakugo now pinned onto a board on the floor of the room. Izuku saw a shirtless, blue haired man create a whip coming off of his tattoo. He gulped back hearing that same man laugh, staring right at the phone.

"A live audience?" He cackled as Izuku fought back the sickness in his stomach. Bakugo was more slumped down, and Izuku began to panic seeing he wasn't conscious. He also saw clearer that his hair was longer, and that he looked greasy and dirty. "This is going to be great!"

"Hey!" Izuku snapped, though he sounded more worried than anything. "I'm not leaving until I know he's alive!" The youngest brother Buki just laughed.

"You want proof?" He laughed once more. Buki raised up his arm and slashed at Bakugo's back with it. Izuku gasped bringing a hand to his mouth seeing Bakugo flinch at the impact. Buki began to scream.

"RAT!" He said playfully. "Show our audience you're alive dammit!" He slashed at his back again, this time with a much greater force. Bakugo woke up to the stinging sensation of being whipped the first time. His crimson eyes were puffy due to what he endured from the older brother earlier. At the next impact, he was fully awake as a yelp escaped his lips. He tugged against his restraints instinctively as another slash hit his back.

"Keep at it until our guest arrives." Tomura said calmly as the camera turned away from the scene. Izuku's eyes had been watering the whole time while hearing Bakugos cries.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him-"

"I said I'd trade his life for yours,"Tomura snapped. "Why deny my friends their fun until their favorite play toy leaves them forever."

"You're sick-"

"Then you better get here soon. Warehouse district, Matsubo city… and you better be alone. Or else, he dies."

At the ending of the call, Izuku raced out of his room, only stopping to calm himself in the elevator. Thankfully no one was present on his floor, but seeing Kaminari and Mineta in the common room Izuku walked painfully slow to his taste. The two didn't say anything, since usually Izuku went out to train at this time. Once outside and a good feet away from the buildings, Izuku took off towards a full blown sprint, leaving the UA campus. He knew what he was doing was wrong...but it was Bakugo. He hoped his plan would work, and that the two of them could escape the villains safely. But as he traveled on by train, he accepted that his odds weren't great.

***A few hours earlier***

All Might peaked from around the corner, watching Izuku sprint towards the 1-A dorms. He sighed, pulling out his phone to call Aizawa at the station.

"He's heading to the common rooms now."

"He'll be leaving campus around 9 after the phone call," Aizawa informed the former #1 hero. "I'll make sure he gets back in one piece."

"Make sure they both do." All Might said softly before hanging up on the pro. Back at the police station, the pro's Edge shot, Endeavor, Gran Torino, Gang Orca, Kamui Woods, and Aizawa stood with policemen over their new last minute tactical strategy.

"This mission will require stealth," Detective Tsukauchi announced. "One false indication of our presence, and the students will pay the price for it. The plan is simple; police squads 1 and two will be in charge of perimeter. Squads 3 and four of pro heros will be in charge of the villains...and squad five...standby until we get a location on Bakugo. You are not to enter until we get a clear sighting. Am I clear?"

"Absolutely!" Kirishima said determinedly.

"I felt so horrible lying to Deku," Uraraka sighed. " Putting the tracker in his hair. Pretending to not know what he was going to run away and save Bakugo-"

"We had to, otherwise we could've put him at risk too." Iida countered.

"It's a good thing we did," Yaoyorozu sighed, holding her tracker that she made. "We have to make sure this rescue mission is done right. Plus, I made sure the tracker was small enough not to be detected and that it won't come off unless someone cuts off his hair."

"It's a good thing you didn't put it accidentally on his skin! And that we all earned our provisional hero licenses," Kirishima nodded, trying to make light on the situation. But also anxious to get going. "And you're three month program just ended too Todoroki."

"Indeed," he said calmly. Though truth be told, he was on edge.

" _I can't know! It's too big of a risk. There's no way, I can't jeopardize this chance. I'm sorry."_

Todoroki hoped that's what Izuku meant, and that he didn't read too much into his words. Still, he was glad that he went to Aizawa that same night as well as getting Uraraka and Yaoyorozu to help get a small tracker on Izuku to help locate Bakugo.

"You all did well playing your parts," Aizawa noted, coming up to their group. "You five are the only students who know what's going on tonight. It have been too obvious if the whole class was aware."

"We do our jobs right tonight, then this will all be over." Kamui Woods announced.

"On my signal," Aizawa spoke up determinedly. "Once Midoriya is in route...we move out!"

 **Hope y'all enjoyed. Things are going to be heating up. The rescue attempt will happen...and the repercussions that follow will be intense. Let me know what you all think! Next update should be around 9/30/18!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome to the next chapter everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5: Kacchan**

 **Song: Savin Me by Nickelback**

" _Then you better get here soon. Warehouse district, Matsubo city… and you better be alone. Or else, he dies."_

Izuku kept tapping his foot on the train. He bit his lip trying not to break down crying in public, knowing Bakugo was just gonna keep being tortured until he arrived. He was becoming anxious to actually see him, to save him.

His plan wasn't really that smart, he just relied on the fact that help might come. However, Izuku knew the less he knew, the better. He couldn't risk putting Bakugo in any more danger...but his broken form…

Izuku gasped seeing that, after three hours, he finally made it to Matsubo city. It was more of an urban area, and it actually seemed to be peaceful. It put Izuku on edge. He pulled out his phone and found a map, startled to see that the city didn't actually have his own designated warehouse area. He began to panic, thinking the worst when he saw that, there was a storage unit building at the edge of the coast on a private road. He gulped, following his hunch that it was where he needed to go.

It took about 45 minutes of walking and running, but he finally made it. Izuku couldn't help but jog majority of the way. Shivers tingles down his spine at the breeze, noticing that the warehouse was right by the edge of the cliff that lead down to the ocean. The salt stung his nose as he kept low to the ground, fumbling seeing that there wasn't a lot of cover for him pst the gate. It was mainly just a dirt road, but the buildings that surrounded the gated area were the perfect cover. But it was all over as soon as he entered the area. His only hope he thought was to sprint against the wall and hope he isn't seen.

"What if one of the villains have a sensory type quirk and could detect me coming?" Izuku pondered worriedly. "What if one is invisible and could see him coming from the roof? What if they don't know I'm here yet? And if I can make it past the field to the building, where do I go from there? Do I enter and look for Kachaan? What if one of them captures me? WHat if-"

Izuku shook off his muttering immediately and covered his mouth. He began to think only of Bakugo as he tried to collect himself.

"Kachaan," Izuku whispered. "I'll save you."

Izuku took a deep breath, sprinting from the broken gate entrance towards the dark building. He only looked forward as he sprinted ahead, thinking only of his mission. He made it to the wall, immediately pressing his back to it to catch his breath. Izuku then gulped as his adrenaline kicked in, moving cautiously to his left towards the cliff side of the building. The main door lights were off, and Izuku tried opening the door.

"Damn it." He whispered realizing it was locked. He continued moving towards and peered around the corner, the roar of the waves louder now on the side. He could smell the salt of the ocean burn his lungs. Peeking from the corner, he saw that there was another door next to a huge garage type one. He looked to the right and saw no fence along side the cliff.

Izuku gulped as he moved alongside the wall, everything felt off. He knew Tomura was waiting expecting him, part of Izuku hoped that he could still sneak in, find Bakugo, and the two of them could escape. However, the odds of that seem slim.

"Izuku Midoriya."

The freckled boy froze hearing the deep voice behind him. His body stiffened when he turned and saw the villain he recognized as Dabi smirking tiredly behind him.

"You made it." He said calmly that kept Izuku on edge. The boy gritted his teeth as the garage door opened. Toga, Shigaraki, and Kontororu stepped out from inside, Tomura smiling from beneath his mask. Spinner gave a shove, motioning for Izuku to move towards them, to which he reluctantly did.

"Crap," Izuku cursed to himself. "Sneaking around wouldn't have mattered anyways. I recognize some of these guys from the training camp, except for the one with the golden eyes. What do I do? It's not like I can take them all down at once, plus I need to get Kacchan out of here!"

"Did you actually come alone?" Tomura mused, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. "I was sure you would have done the noble thing and at least brought some back up."

"Didn't have a choice," Izuku forced out. His mind was spinning seeing he didn't have many options left. He doesn't even know all of these villains quirks, he hasn't seen them. Who knows what they really could do? That and not knowing where Bakugo was at the moment, Izuku knew he couldn't be rash.

"I kept my word, now honor yours. Where's Kacchan?"

"A deal's a deal." He said with a light tone to his voice. The villain turned to Kontororu and simply nodded. "Follow me, Izuku."

The freckled boy gulped as his fists clenched tightly, his fingernails digging into his palms. The villains all surrounded him as they made their way inside the warehouse. It was huge with a giant metal platform doors in the center of the floor. The blue haired villain calmly opened it as Tomura stood back, gesturing for Izuku to go inside. Izuku gulped, unsure of what he would find, he wasn't sure what to do.

"If I try and run, I'm just leaving Kacchan here to suffer some more," He said to himself. "It's clearly a trap, so what do I do? What if Kachaan isn't even in there and I just got us both captured. I knew the risks doing this alone, but the consequences…"

His thoughts were interrupted seeing a figure he recognized from the phone calls step out from the basement. The tattoos on his upper-body and his golden eyes made Izuku start to feel sick. There was a light frost escaping the room, and the man laughed wildly holding a whip in his left hand. Izuku's eyes widened seeing blood stains on the rope. Tomura laughed while gesturing downstairs.

Izuku didn't think, he rushed downstairs into the cold freezer, the light still on when his throat hitched. In the center of the floor, Bakugo was breathing heavily after the hours of slashing he endured, trying to stay awake until he knew he was alone. His back to Izuku, to which the boy's eyes watered seeing how many slash marks were on his back. Izuku rushed forward and slid on his knees, reaching forward to Bakugo. But at the sound, the blonde teen immediately shakily scrambled to his hands and knees.

"Kacchan!" Izuku called out, his voice barely a whisper in shock at Bakugo's reaction. Bakugo pressed his back against the wall, keeping his head down. He brought his head to his knees as he braced himself, thinking it was one of the Fuzen brothers with him again. Izuku's jaw clenched as he could barely contain himself now.

"Kacchan."

It was louder now, and Bakugo went still hearing his voice. Izuku gulped as he inched forward, pausing seeing that Bakugo sunk into himself more at the sound. Izuku now had tears streaming down his cheeks, anger and sorrow swarming his mind.

"Kacchan, it's me-"

"Not real." Bakugo dared himself to snap back, but his voice was cracked and Izuku can hear the fear laced in his words.

"What do you mean-"

"You're not real," Bakugo gritted his teeth as his shaking continued. "Deku's not here. This is fake."

"Kacchan please, I'm here-"

"STOP THIS!" Bakugo screamed as he brought his hands to the side of his face, still not wanting to look up at Izuku in front of him. Tears formed freely down the freckled teens face when suddenly, cackling laughter echoed in the room. Izuku saw that Bakugo froze at the sound, his body turning back to the entrance seeing Tomura and the laughing brother standing there.

"Pathetic rat!" The brother Buki laughed. "He still has some learning to do.

"Then I'll leave them to you." Tomura sighed as he went up the stairs. Izuku couldn't contain his frustration anymore; his legs rushed forward as he raced towards the door when a bat suddenly appeared crashing hard against Izuku's face. Buki had activated his quirk, his tattoo now gone from his hand causing Izuku to crash backwards in the freezer. The commotion made Bakugo peek up; he held his breath trying to rationalize the situation...was Izuku really in front of him?

"You didn't even see it coming!" Buki laughed as Izuku shakily sat up. "Stupid boy!"

"You won't win!" Izuku called out after Tomura. "I'll stop you!" The lead villain calmly went to close the doors above; Izuku scrambled to his feet as he rushed forward again Buki laughed as he swung. Izuku went to dodge when a fist connected to his face, immediately following with another swing of the bat. A loud crack echoed in the room as Izuku flew back towards where Bakugo was, sliding right in front of him.

The crimson eyed boy was cautious, he didn't want to fall for the same trick. But it felt different, and Bakugo gulped back as he clenched his knuckles tight. Izuku pushed himself up, his body facing towards Bakugo. Izuku glanced back as he watched as the ceiling door clanged loudly to a close.

"You sure showed him boy!" Buki laughed, putting the bat back on his skin as it went back to a tattoo. "You need to learn to obey, dog!"

"You won't get away with this!" Izuku yelled, still glancing over his shoulder. He went to turn around fully when he felt a hand tightly grip his right wrist. Izuku gasped at how tight it was, but he turned and froze seeing the blonde staring hard at his hand.

"Deku?" Bakugo asked aloud. Slowly, Bakugo looked up meeting Izuku's eyes. They were watery and Izuku clenched his jaw trying to hold back his emotions. Bakugo couldn't believe it, his mind was sending him red flags to try and show he wasn't actually there. But is hope was rising again, and the dangers of believing in hope were paramount to him currently. But Izuku was right in front of him, he couldn't help it.

"Deku?" Bakugo asked again, his voice cracking more. "Are you real?" Izuku's eyes watered as he went to reach forward towards his childhood friend.

"Kacchan-" A whip sound interrupted the silence as it laced around Izuku's neck. Bakugo's eyes went wide as Izuku was yanked backwards towards the center of the room. Buki used his knee and pinned down the green haired boy as he made chains with his quirk.

"It's my turn to play!" Buki snarled as Izuku gasped for air. His arms instinctively rached up towards the whip to try and loosen it, but Buki used this motion to grab both his wrists, latching cuffs on them. Izuku's vision was blurry at how fast he was yanked back, when he suddenly was lifted up by his hands. He grimaced seeing he was chained up similarly to how Bakugo was before. His throat felt sore, and he was coughing still until Buki reached his hand forward grabbing the front of Izuku's shirt. A small yelp escaped Izuku as Buki pulled him close.

"Now we train you dog." He glowered. Izuku didn't have time to think when another fist connected to his stomach. He swung again, Izuku yelped gasping for air. Something stirred inside of Bakugo as his eyes remained wide at Buki continuously punching Izuku. His eyes narrowed as he forced himself to stand, pressing his hands to the wall. Watching Buki beat Izuku; he was still definitely afraid...but he couldn't stand to watch.

"Obey, dog!" Buki screamed with laughter. Izuku braced himself, glaring at the villain. Suddenly, Bakugo pushed himself forward off of the wall. Because the freezer was so cold, he couldn't use his quirk, but he still managed to wrap his arms around the villain in an attempt to choke him. It was in vain however, Bakugo's body was weak due to no exersize and loss of muscle. After a quick struggle, Buki reached back and grabbed the teen, throwing him forward; crashing onto his back.

"Kacchan!" Izuku screamed. Bakugo gasped for air as his vision tried to recover, everything hurt. Suddenly, Buki appeared inches away from Bakugos face. Izuku tugged against his restraints as he saw Bakugo's eyes widen in pure conditioned fear.

"Your training is over," Buki snarled. He grabbed Bakugo by the throat, dragging him back towards the back wall to pin him with his left hand.

"Let him go!" Izuku screamed.

"We have you now, so we don't need this pathetic rat anymore." Buki snarled. Bakugo grabbed at his hands instinctively to try and loosen his grip, but it was no good. Through Izuku's screams to let Bakugo go, the crimson eyes looked directly at the pure green. Bakugo didn't say anything, his eyes were wide as he expected his inevitable death to finally come. Buki began to laugh.

"It's been fun rat!" Buki snarled, leaning close to Bakugo. The blonde clenched his eyes shut, and Izuku heard his words.

"Sorry Deku."

Izuku felt a rage that was almost like the night he saved Kota from Muscular. One for All coursed through his body as his eyes flickered to Bakugo. His percentage was at 20%, a level he hadn't tried out yet since de didn't want to injure his body, but it was for Bakugo. Izuku saw that Buki used his quirk to make a knife, but he wouldn't allow the chance. Izuku screamed as he yanked down on the chains, his raw power breaking them easily. Adrenaline kicked in as he used full cowling to launch forward, grabbing the back of Buki's head. Bakugo's eyes shot open at the scream, and he looked up to see Izuku slam Buki backwards onto the floor.

Izuku knocked him out cold due to the impact, he surprised himself for how powerful that was. Bakugo stood in shock, getting pulled out of it when he tried to stand up. His foot, still broken, sent a sharp pain shooting up his leg. Bakugo let out a groan as the rest of his body ached. He was exhausted, his back slid down as the cold wall stung against his slashed back. He fell to a sitting position, about to fall further when he felt tow hands grip his shoulders. At the actin, his eyes shot wide open instinctively, but he relaxed a bit seeing Izuku teary eyed in front of him.

Bakugo stared numbly as Izuku helped him back to a sitting position. It surprised them both; had this been four months ago, Bakugo probably would've pushed Izuku off of him, insisting that he would have escaped on his own. Bakugo remembered vaguely that he was always angry with Izuku, and with everything he endured here, he doesn't feel angry. It finally sank in that this was real, Izuku really was right in front of him. Izuku waited for Bakugo's anger to resurface, waited for him to say something that resembled the explosive teen everyone missed. But it was in this moment, that it clicked in Izuku...mentally, that Bakugo was gone. He knew this as he watched Bakugo's eyes water at the reality of the situation; the teen clenched his jaw as he struggled to keep his tears contained.

"You're here?" Bakugo couldn't believe it. "Deku, you're actually here?"

"Yes, it's me. " Izuku tried to reassure him. "I came because Shigaraki said I could trade myself for you."

"Tch. Stupid Deku. I told you it was a trap." Izuku had to take a moment to process Bakugo's voice. It was too soft, there was no venom in his tone. Even when he called him his usual stupid Deku. He sounded more sad and cautious.

"I know, but I couldn't pass up the chance to save you!" Izuku bit his lower lip, trying not to break. "I failed you too many times before." Bakugo lowered his head, trying to shake his head out of his somber thoughts.

"You're here now right?" Bakugo asked lightly. "And we are both stuck down here."

"I could blast through the doors and we can make a run for it-"

"You think I'm in the condition to run?" Bakugo said defeated. He gestured towards his body, and Izuku stammered taking in just how bad his state was. His broken ankle was covered in purple and black, swollen over the months. His right shoulder from his knife wound was infected, and the rest of his body from what Izuku could see was covered in bruises, puncture wounds, and slashes. Izuku lowered his head as the tears flowed freely now. He took a quick moment before shaking it off.

"Then I'll carry you," Izuku vowed in determination, reaching out his hand. "One way or another, I'll get you out of here!" Bakugo looked up at Izuku, that feeling of hope resurfacing in his emotions. Cautiously, he allowed himself to embrace the feeling. He nodded at Izuku, reaching for his hand. Izuku leaned forward and pulled Bakugo's left arm over his shoulder, to which he leaned for support. It worried Izuku that with every movement, Bakugo winced in pain.

Suddenly, the room began to shake, some of the ice on the walls cracking. Izuku and Bakugo both went on alert, looking up at the ceiling.

"Somethings wrong." Bakugo spoke aloud. He didn't mean to sound more panicked then he did, but he cringed again when a loud explosion went off right above the metal ceiling doors. Izuku's eyes widened recognizing the yells from above.

"It's the pro's!" Izuku said proudly. He snapped out of his own excitement as he activated his quirk. "Hold on Kacchan."

Bakugo squeezed on Izuku's shoulder as the teen used full cowling, rushing forward. Izuku went back to 20% and channeled his quirk into his arm. He let out a fierce roar as his fist connected to the metal door. It swung open and the two teens were shocked to see police officers with Gang Orca and Kamui Woods taking on Spinner, Magne, Twice, and Toga. Izuku landed in front of the basement entrance right as Twice looked over.

"Oh great! The kid's loose!" The lighter tone yelped. "Stop them!" He then demanded in his deeper voice. The pro's glanced over to see Izuku and Bakugo whose eyes were wide at the fight.

"Get them out of here!" Kamui called out as Edge shot suddenly appeared next to them. He went to usher them out the main garage door when Kurogiri suddenly appeared. Edge shot spun and went to pin the villain by his metal plate and knock him out again, but Kurogiri morphed behind him.

"Go now!" He yelled out to the boys as the two continued to battle. Izuku didn't hesitate as he turned on his heel to sprint out the door. Bakugo was struggling to stay up, constantly trying to run with Izuku, but kept grunting in pain. They made it outside, Izuku going as fast as he could. He couldn't look back, all that mattered was that he and Bakugo were going to run as far away as they possibly could.

Bakugo glanced back and saw on the roof Dabi run forward next to Shigaraki. His eyes widened as he heard the lead villain scream.

"Don't let Izuku get away!" Tomura ordered as Dabi lit up one of his hands. Bakugo saw him send his blue flames right at them, seeing that as soon as he did, Gang Orca appeared and engaged in battle with the two. Bakugo used all the strength he could muster and pushed Izuku to the side.

"Kacchan!" Izuku screamed as the blast sent them both flying towards the cliff edge. Bakugo skidded to a halt on the ground, but Izuku tumbled over the edge. He screamed as he held onto the cliff, struggling as the moist rock made it hard for him to climb up.

"Kacchan!" Izuku called out again as he struggled. Bakugo scrambled to his hands and knees, pushing past the aches in his body. He rushed over and grabbed Izuku's hand. He yelled as he used the little muscle he had to pull him up. Izuku once he got more grip was finally on solid ground when suddenly, Bakugo felt something grab the back of his neck and throw him back away from the edge. Blonde looked up and began to tremble seeing Kontororu sauntering menacingly towards him.

"You think I'd just let you escape me?" Kontororu scowled. Bakugo tried scooting away from him, but all of his strength was gone. "I'm not done with my favorite plaything yet!"

"N-no!" Bakugo screamed, he wasn't sure if in his head or if the words escaped his lips. "Don't touch me!" Izuku looked up and felt something worse than fury. Seeing exactly how terrified of this man he was, he rushed forward without thinking.

"You stay away from him!" Izuku roared. Kontororu was faster than he expected though. He spun around and grabbed Izuku by the face, spinning so fast that he was then pinned to the ground.

"Bold words, Izuku Midoriya," Kontororu mused. His golden eyes began to glow as he activated his quirk. Bakugo grimaced recognizing exactly what he was doing. Bakugo clenched his fists, realizing he was sweating a lot. He felt his hands tingle as the distant feeling of the cackling came back to his hands. His eyes were locked onto Kontororu who didn't seem to notice. The villain smiled sinisterly as Izuku began to whimper in the mind state.

"Welcome to my world."

Bakugo snapped. He was terrified of the man before him, but seeing Izuku in the same state he was in too many times, not knowing what mind horrors he was facing. Bakugo was angry; scared and furious. He screamed as he used his right arm to launch himself forward with his quirk, and he extended his left towards Kontororus face. Kontororu snapped himself out of his quirk to see Bakugo's hand inches from his face.

"DIE!" Bakugo screamed as he let out an explosion. Izuku gasped seeing him Launch Kontororu back, skidding right to the cliffs edge. He saw that the villain was still breathing, wincing at what he just saw. Bakugo huffed heavily as he struggled to stay up. Izuku went to help him when insane laughter interrupted both of their thoughts.

"You love explosions rat?" Buki screamed as he held an explosion gun. "Take this!" Buki let out the explosion and Izuku slammed himself onto the ground. He looked up to see that Bakugo was sent flying over the edge.

"Kacchan!" Izuku screamed. Through his tears that quickly spilled, he didn't have time to react to a cold breeze rushing past him.

Bakugo blinked once and realized he just passed the cliffs edge. He saw Izuku's wide eyes and felt his scream escape his throat as gravity took place. His eyes clenched shut as he went down to the roaring ocean below until he felt a hand grip his wrist. His eyes shot open as he looked up to see Todoroki panting, clutching onto his wrist.

"Half and half!" Bakugo gasped in surprise.

"I swear to god, you better not let go this time!" Todoroki ordered. The teen used all his strength to pull up Bakugo with his right hand as his left gripped the cliff edge. Izuku shook his head seeing the excess amount of ice Todoroki used to rush forward to get to Bakugo on time. He heard screaming from behind and saw that Buki rushed forward toward Todoroki with a chainsaw.

"Todoroki-kun!" Izuku screamed. "Kacchan!"

"I want you dead!" Buki screamed wildly. He raised the chainsaw above them, both teens gasped as Todoroki braced himself. The fire/ice teen clutched onto Bakugo even tighter preparing for the worst. The heard an impact, looking up to see Kirishima blocking the weapon with his quirk.

"Don't even think about it!" He screamed, just as Izuku used full cowling to punch Buki away. Todoroki pulled up Bakugo the rest of the way, then turning to make a huge Ice wall to isolate the two brothers on the edge. All the teens were breathing heavily, trying to catch their breath.

"You're all here?" Bakugo whispered. All the other teens caught his words, slowly turning towards Bakugo who stared hard into the ground. It clicked in Todoroki and Kirishima that he was actually in front of them, their emotions threatening to get the better of them. Bakugo finally found the courage to look up at them as he tried not to let his tears spill just yet. He couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Kirishima and Todoroki barely recognized the Bakugo before them. The old Bakugo wouldn't be so vulnerable in front of them. It worried them just thinking about how much Bakugo went through that changed him so. A loud explosion went off from in the warehouse, snapping all of them out of their thoughts.

"We need to leave, now!" Todoroki said quickly. Bakugo shakily pulled himself up to his feet, but the exhaustion was getting to him. Izuku moved forward seeing him wince in pain. Bakugo stifled a groan as his body screamed at him. He fell forward, putting Todoroki and Izuku in alert. Bakugo almost slammed onto the floor until he felt two strong arms catch him. He kept his eyes closed as he felt his body lift into the air. He groaned in pain at each movement, trying to force his eyes open. He saw that Kirishima was carrying him on his back, his arms supporting his legs with Bakugo's arms thrown over his shoulders.

"It's okay Bakugo," Kirishima said calmly, trying to force a smile. "I gotcha."

"Kirishima." Bakugo croaked out, but he finally let his eyes close in exhaustion. Kirishima became worried and angry seeing the state Bakugo was in.

"What did they do to him?" He asked out loud.

"We have to get him out of here." Izuku said trying to shake off his thoughts.

"This way!" Todoroki instructed, and the three teens took off into a sprint behind Todoroki. The went back towards the front gate, making a sharp right towards the suburban area. They sprinted as fast as they could, until suddenly the warped gate villain appeared with Shigaraki. The boys skidded to a halt as the two villains scowled.

"You're so damn irritating!" Tomura screamed at Izuku. "You know, since you broke our deal, I guess I'll just have to kill Bakugo and the rest of your friends." At the cold words, everyone tensed; Kirishima took a step backwards as Todoroki and Izuku stepped forward in defensive positions.

"Like hell we'll let that happen!" Izuku screamed.

"Oh, but it must now."

They all suddenly felt a cold chill behind them. They all reacted late to see that Warp Gate had appeared behind them, with shigarakis hand reaching out to Bakugo's back. Kirishima tried to turn, but he wasn't going to block it in time. All of their eyes widened in shock until a long dart pierced through his hand. Tomura screamed in pain drawing his hand back, making the portal behind the boys disappear. Todoroki looked and saw that it was Yaoyororzu who made a dart gun and launched it.

"Shigaraki!" The warped villain called out. But then, Izuku saw Iida race in holding Uraraka. She ran to the warp gate and touched his metal casing, making him float in the air. Eraserhead came in from around the corner then and used his caltrops scarf to capture warpgate, slamming his foot on the back of Shigaraki's head causing him to collapse.

"A-aizawa sensei!" Izuku called out in shock.

"Group Five, get to the van and get out now!" Aizawa ordered. All the teens rushed past them and made it to the van where detective Tsukauchi was waiting. The teens all rushed in, letting Kirishima go in first. The doors slammed shut as the detective raced to the front, sprinting away from the fight against the villains.

"Oh my god!" Uraraka gasped seeing how bad Bakugo's state really was. "How could they do this to him!"

"Here!" Yaoyorozu said calmly. As soon as they were in the van, she already began prepping a bed for Bakugo. "Lay him here Kirishima."

Kirishima did as he was told, he and Izuku worked together to lay him down as gently as possible. Todoroki and Iida gave their space as they looked out the back windows, to ensure they weren't being followed.

"Here Izuku," Yaoyorozu then handed him materials for a splint. "For his leg." Izuku worked quickly and cautiously to make the splint as Uraraka and Kirishima stood stunned looking at how battered and torn the rest of his body was. It hit them, and they all felt horrible.

"I wish we would've found him sooner," Iida said sadly. "His condition is critical."

"Once we get him to a hospital, he should be alright." Uraraka tried to convince everyone. Izuku shook his head softly.

"Everything he faced, we don't even know a quarter of what he went through," He spoke softly as the tears returned to him again. "I'm glad we got him out...but...we took too long."

They all remained silent, most of them letting their tears silently fall. They were happy to have Bakugo back, but the thought of everything he endured broke their hearts.

 **AAAAND THAT'S IT FOR THIS CHAPTER! Sorry for so late of updates everyone. School and work is really tough to juggle. Next chapter shall be up around 10/14/18 :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND I'M BACK! Sorry I took so long to update, school kicked my ass. But I will try and be better about**

 **posting guys. I have a lot of plans for this story!**

 **Chapter 6 - Is This Real?**

 **Song: Broken Wings by Sik World**

He fell asleep, something he knew he shouldn't have done.

For the blonde teen, it was hard to tell which was worse for him; being awake or asleep. When he's conscious, it was always the same routine of torture and phone calls with the Fuzen Brothers and Tomura. He had been conditioned to fear them. But in his sleep, the tortures he faced stayed with him in his dreams. He couldn't remember the last time he dreamt of something good; the hopeful dreams stopped a mere two weeks into his capture.

What's worse was Kontororu's quirk made it hard to know what was reality and what wasn't. Toying with his mind on things that may or may not have happened. But to the teen, what difference did it make?

Bakugo's eyes were closed, but he heard a menacing laughter that put him immediately on edge. His breaths now came in shakier, and his fists clenched tightly as he heard the familiar cackle draw closer.

"You thought you got away?" He heard Kontororu snarl. Bakugo shot his eyes open and saw that he was back in the freezer, chained up once again by his wrists. The elder brother laughed at the teen's expression, smiling wide as Bakugo held his breath.

"You actually thought they were able to save you!" The villain stepped back revealing the bodies of his classmates who attempted to save him. Lifeless on the floor was Izuku, Todoroki, and Kirishima. Bakugo's breath hitched as he began to hyperventilate, seeing them all dead before him. He blinked through his now panicked tears and Kontororu was immediately in front of him, gripping his chin while pulling him close.

"And we're just getting started."

"How much farther?" Iida radioed to Detective Tsukauchi.

"We are quite a ways back from base-"

"How much longer?" Todoroki took the walkie talkie from Iida, gripping it tightly impatiently. "Bakugo's condition is-"

"I'm well aware," the detective sighed sadly on the other end. "I'll call out to dispatch to see if we can get to a closer hospital, but also get additional units to guard the perimeter. Hang on." Todoroki grunted handing Iida back the walkie talkie, fighting back his frustration.

"Todoroki," Izuku called out softly. "We need your quirk-"

"I made him a blanket but he's still shivering," Yaoyarozu gasped. "I'd make him a heating blanket but my quirk has already exhausted itself and-" Todoroki just nodded and used his left side and made a small flame, standing near Bakugo. All the teens winced seeing how badly Bakugo was shivering.

"He was in a freezer the whole time," Izuku barely croaked out as Bakugo's shaking slowed. "That's why he couldn't use his quirk or...fight back.

"He needs immediate attention on his leg and shoulder." Todoroki whispered softly, barely glancing at Bakugo who seemed to be in a deep sleep. "His condition is-"

"I know Todoroki-kun," Yaoyorozu sighed sadly. "This is all I can do until an actual doctor takes a look at him." The young creation hero made an adjustable bed, a splint, and a blanket for the sleeping blonde. Uraraka even tapped on the splint on Bakugo so it lifted up slightly, relieving any pressure on the injured leg. Everyone else remained silent in the car, the weight of Izuku's words earlier made them unwilling to say much. It was difficult for all of them, the explosive teen was almost unrecognizable. His spiky hair not evident; being longer and greasy. His whole body covered in scars, burn marks, and bruises.

Suddenly, Bakugo's calm expression immediately changed to panic as his breathing began to increase. Kirishima noticed first and went onto alert as Bakugo's breaths began to hitch.

"W-what's happening?" Kirishima asked aloud. As all the teens glanced to Bakugo, the blonde clenched his knuckles tightly and let out a blood curdling scream. Tears streamed down Bakugo's face as he thrashed around his body, due to his nightmare he was stuck in.

"Bakugo!" Kirishima called out trying to get his friend to wake up. What made it worse was now, due to the sweat in his palms, small explosions began to spurt out. His reactions began to make it hard for the Detective to drive.

"The hell is going on back there!"

"It's Bakugo!" Iida radioed back. "He's having a nightmare!"

"He's going to hurt himself!" Uraraka cried out as all teens were on their feet. Immediately, Kirishima hardened his hands and grabbed both fists in an attempt to get the explosions contained. However this only made Bakugo panic more.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" He cried out. His throat was dry, but desperate. His words made the other teens in the van stifle their tears. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Bakugo!" Kirishima cried out. "It's me! It's only us, you're safe! Wake up!"

"Kachaan!" Izuku whimpered as he tried shaking Bakugo's shoulders to try and get him up. Todoroki went around to the other side of the bed to try and do the same. The other three stood by the back doors barely containing their tears. "Kachaan wake up!"

"NO!" Bakugo cried out as his crimson eyes shot open.

"Kachaan!"

It took him a moment for him to register three faces before him. To Bakugo, he just saw their lifeless bodies on the floor. He didn't know what to think, but he couldn't stop his hopeful tears from silently spilling.

"You're all alive?" The question surprised everyone, but more so just made them sad.

"Of course we are dude," Kirishima softly smiled, slowly releasing Bakugo's hands. "We are all right here."

"A-and the villains-"

"Last I saw, Aizawa-sensei and the other pro's had them detained." Todoroki said calmly as he lowered his head. He didn't know what to do, the whole thing just felt sad to him. Bakugo was trying to wrap his head around what he was hearing. It should make absolute sense, he remembered the three of them with him right before he passed out. But Bakugo couldn't help but be cautious. He looked to Izuku who seemed to be holding his breath.

"Deku, is this real?" He asked quietly. Izuku gulped back his pain and forced a sad smile.

"This is real." Izuku promised. "We are all here." Bakugo just lowered his head, refusing to look at anyone. No one really knew what to say, none of them wanted to hover over him. None of them moved either, but Izuku could tell Bakugo didn't seem to mind.

The drive was long and they weren't sure exactly which hospital they were heading to. All they could do was wait until Detective Tsukauchi radiod them. All of them looked somberly at the ground, not realizing that the blonde had been peeking up at all of them. He barely remembered them; he felt like it had been a life time since he had seen his classmates despite knowing it's only been four months. Bakugo sort of remembered their faces, but seeing them he knew.

"Is this your doing?" He spoke softly, grabbing everybody out of their thoughts. He didn't look directly at any of them, he barely lifted his head. All Bakugo did was nod towards his leg that was still floating in the air.

"You made my leg float?" He said finding his voice.

"Ye-yeah to take some pressure of your leg." Uraraka said softly. "It's all I can do until the doctors fix it better."

"Yaoyorozu made the bed, splint, and blanket with her quirk." Kirishima chimed in softly. "And then once the doctors see you, you'll be back on your feet." The crimson eyed teen slowly nodded as he closed his eyes again and sank into the bed. It was right before he fell asleep, and it was barely a whisper...but they all heard it.

"Thank you.'

To the teens asides from Izuku, they all felt his voice didn't sound quite right. And at the same time, they finally let their tears and sadness take over seeing Bakugo asleep once again. It was this moment that they all reached the same acceptance that Izuku did. He will never be the same Bakugo he was before.

After what felt like an eternity, Detective Tsukauchi informed the teens that they made it back to Mustafu to their hospital. They all braced themselves as the looked out the back window, seeing police lights flaring and news vans along the perimeter set up by the police.

"Why the hell is the media here?" Kirishima groaned as he and Iida looked out the back windows.

"Did someone leak what the police were up to?"

"We can't focus on that now," Todoroki snapped out of his thoughts as he met all of their worried faces. "All we can do is make sure we get Bakugo inside as safely, and quickly as possible."

"Get ready guys." Detective Tsukauchi warned everyone over the radio. The detective did his best to drive the car as far in as possible. All the teens gulped as the doors swung open abruptly. Unfortunately at the noise, Bakugo's psychologically trained instincts kicked in. The blonde immediately sat up and pressed his back as far back of the van as possible. The teens gasped at the action as the detective stood wide eyed at Bakugo.

"Wh-what's happening?" Bakugo asked, his voice tainted with fear.

"Kachaan," Izuku was right in front of him immediately. "It's alright, we are at the hospital now-"

"This isn't a trick, right Deku?," Bakugo said now beginning to panic He wanted to believe him, but Bakugo woke up doubting everything around him. "I-I don't know."

"We need to move him now," Detective Tsukauchi warned from outside the truck. "The paparazzi are about to be in a frenzy. Doctors are here for him." And in that instant, a few doctors came into view of the back of the truck. One of the male doctors climbed in when Bakugo's pulse quickened in that instant. Todoroki and Kirishima recognized this immediately, trying to make sure Bakugo didn't panic, but it was too late.

"Don't touch me." Bakugo's voice was barely a whisper. Izuku's eyes widened in that moment as Bakugo locked eyes with the approaching doctor.

"It's alright, we are gonna get you inside and take a look at you-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Bakugo screamed as the doctor went to reach an assuring hand. Not to his control, Bakugo let out an explosion in the back of the car in defense. It wasn't huge or anything, but it startled everyone, gaining the attention of the paparazzi at the fences. Multiple other doctors rushed in the van, pushing the standing teens out as the police struggled to keep the paparazzi back.

"They're frightening him!" Uraraka whimpered as Yaoyorozu held her, the brown haired girl didn't even realize she was crying again. Todoroki, Kirishima, and Izuku tried to rush back in the van to assure Bakugo he was safe to no avail.

"You need to stay back," One of the other doctors warned. "We need to take the patient-"

"You're freaking him out!" Todoroki snapped. "Can't you see he's traumatized!"

"Kachaan!" Izuku called out.. Bakugo's breath hitched when he finally saw Izuku again from outside the van. The doctors saw their moment of opportunity, finally sedating the thrashing teen. Bakugo teared up as he tried to fight the overwhelming sleep that hit him; he kept trying to focus on Izuku.

"D-deku?"

"It's alright, you're at the hospital-" A doctor tried to soothe.

"P-please," Bakugo slurred as he tried to fight off the sleep." Don't let me go back. I c-can't. Don't let me-"

"Kachaan," Izuku called out, not removing his gaze from his childhood friend. The green haired boy gestured to their friends who were barely able to contain their emotions. "I'm here, we are all right here."

"D-deku, I c-can't-" But he didn't finish as the inevitable sleep took over. The doctors relaxed instantly, doing their best to move Bakugo quickly and safely inside. But the paparazzi went into a frenzy; Detective Tsukauchi ushered all the teens to follow behind the doctors who were all still stunned at Bakugo's state. They went into the fifth floor of the hospital, unable to go into the operating room while surgery began for Bakugo. Detective Tsukauchi instructed them to stay in the waiting room until Aizawa or another UA staff came.

Soon the public would learn in a matter of hours...the missing student of UA, Katsuki Bakugo had been rescued.


	7. Chapter 7

**Decided to post again, was feeling inspired! And also felt bad that I didn't update in a while. But I shall be back! Thank you all for your reviews, so glad you love this story!**

 **Chapter 7:**

 **Song:**

It had been about four hours, all 6 teens were restless and worried for the crimson eyed teen. Midnight had already came to tell the students that they could be escorted home, but none of them felt like leaving yet. They continued to wait until they were able to see their friend. Kirishima couldn't take it anymore, he stood up and began to pace. Uraraka gulped as she sat up.

"H-he's gonna be alright." She tried, but her voice was tired.

"They did this to him," Kirishima's voice cracked as his fists clenched tightly. "They broke him physically and mentally. I-I can't even imagine what he went through a-and I was so stupid to think things would go back to normal after we found him!" Kirishima couldn't help it, he punched a wall, bringing all the teens onto their feet in worry.

"Kirishima!" Iida called out.

"I'm sorry," The red head finally let his tears fall freely down his cheeks. "You were right Midoriya...we should have done better, found him sooner."

"Kirishima, you can't think like that now," Izuku whimpered.

"We could've tried harder! I could've tried harder but I just tried playing it off that things would work out in the end but damn it! You saw him, they beat him down and broke him! I can't believe I didn't try harder-"

"Kirishima," Todoroki called out calmly, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "We did get him out. And all we can do is be there for him as he tries to adjust back at school and life."

"Believe me Kirishima," Izuku said solemnly. His eyes watering. "I wished that for so long too, but Todoroki-kun is right. W-we got him out. It's going to be hard, and Kachaan...he went through so much...he's not going to be the same...but, all we can do is just be there for him."

"...you're right," Kirishima sighed deeply, a hopeful smile crossed his face as tears still streamed down his cheeks. "We're his friends after all." All of the teens simply, eyes hopeful when they noticed that Izuku began to tear up again.

"D-deku-kun?" Uraraka asked tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"It's just...I'm sorry," Izuku began to cry more. "I've been such a mess for so long, and I lied to you guys. I threw myself into danger for Kachaan and I'm glad it worked out but..but I was so mean to you all yesterday. I felt horrible lying about my true intentions about giving myself up to save him. I'm...I'm sorry."

"I thought you hinted at me telling everyone but not letting you in on it," Todoroki asked cautiously. "Per your warning about not wanting Bakugo affected?"

"It's not that I didn't want you to come for me!" Izuku stammered trying to gather his thoughts. "It's just, I gave up on the thought. I needed to make it convincing that I gave up hope cause I knew Shigaraki had to have been watching me somehow. So I stopped pretending and I just had to accept that I was giving myself up...in hopes that Shigaraki believed me and that I could save Kachaan. I couldn't allow myself to hope for you to come through Todoroki because I was scared the plan wouldn't work. But I realized, I hurt you all in that process, it was selfish of me to-"

A small pair of arms wrapped around Izuku's frame; Izuku's eyes shot open to see Uraraka holding him tight. Izuku returned the gesture, letting his tears freely fall as Iida and Kirishima joined in on the moment. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki watched from a distance, relief that Izuku had finally let out everything he had been holding back for four months.

They remained like that for a while, until Izuku fully allowed the weight to be lifted off of his shoulders. The four pulled apart and the gravity quirk girl had a aura of confidence around her. She held Izuku at arms length, making the teen blush slightly.

"I forgive you, Deku-kun." Uraraka promised. Izuku gulped, looking at all the other teens who agreed. Of course they understood the reasons Izuku had to do what he did, he was in a tough situation. And granted, they all knew things would have gone way worse, they all remained thankful that things worked out in the end.

"I shouldn't be surprised you kids are still here." All the students looked up, surprised to see Eraser Head so soon.

"Sensei!" Kirishima gasped. "I thought you'd be at the police station."

"If you're here then," Yaoyorozu's eyes widened. "The villains!"

"That's right! Iida exclaimed. "The villains, are they-"

"They escaped...barely." The look in their sensei's eyes told the student's that he wouldn't dive into what happened any further. The pro hero sighed before gesturing for his students to follow. "They moved Bakugo upstairs away from the bottom floor. The media saw enough to piece together the bare minimum of what happened. The good news however is that I was just informed he's out of surgery, they're placing him in a room now."

All the teens were anxious to check in on Bakugo, following silently as they made their way upstairs. Aizawa already knew how much they were nervous; for all of them, his behavior in the van just made them sad. They didn't know everything he went through, and part of them knew he might change due to what he endured...but the reality of it made them sad he even had to go through it at all.

However, as they got closer to his room, they could all hear him screaming. Aizawa grunted as he sprinted towards his room while his students followed closely behind.

"Oh no, Bakugo!" Uraraka gasped as they barely entered the room. The blonde was retrained per orders of the hospital, but it set off Bakugo as he thrashed and screamed. Small explosions, emanating from his hands.

"Let me go, please!"

"Kachaan!" Izuku cried out.

"Enough!" Aizawa shouted out. He activated his quirk on Bakugo, and the blond, though now frozen, shook in fear. Bakugo relaxed a little seeing that it was Aizawa once he opened his eyes.

"S-sensei?" Kachaan croaked out. The pro hero grimaced not recognizing his student behavior. It just made him angry that it took the pros so long to find him, considering the state he's in.

"I'm going to release my quirk now Bakugo," Aizawa spoke calmly. "When I do, I want you to rest yourself and relax. Will you?" The blonde teen was shaking. It bothered Aizawa that the crimson eyes showed nothing but hesitation and fear. Aizawa used his hand signal to Izuku, gesturing him to step forward. Bakugo took a moment before he decided to relax more seeing Izuku cuing Aizawa to release his quirk.

"Can we please get these restraints off of my student now?" Aizawa scowled at the doctors before turning back to the crimson eyed boy. "You're in the hospital now, you're safe."

Bakugo gulped as the doctors cautiously released his restraints. Aizawa noticed how the teen dug his fingernails into his palms as the doctors were close to him. As soon as the restraints were off, the teen relaxed more. The nurses filed out after seeing his vitals leaving only the doctor, Aizawa, and the other teens still barely entered the room; they all knew they didn't want to overcrowd Bakugo. Iida, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Todoroki stepped right outside the door. Kirishima and Izuku however refused to leave.

Bakugo couldn't believe it. Everything leading up to it felt so real, and it astounded the teen seeing that it probably was. It's in his nature to be cautious, but he couldn't help it. He once again, let his guard fall. His head fell as he tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.

"This is actually happening?" Bakugo croaked out. He finally lifted his head and they all got a good look at him. His long greasy hair unkempt, his lips chapped from the cold. The black eye, the scratches on his face. The burn marks peaking through on his chest with the slice marks. Aizawa couldn't help but feel guilt that they couldn't find him sooner. Izuku couldn't help it, and neither could Kirishima; their tears streamed down their cheeks as well.

"This is real?"

"It is." Izuku forced out.

Bakugo finally let it go. His wailing sobs finally break out as everything he endured finally poured out. Izuku and Kirishima rushed forward, and the sound of footsteps made Bakugo shoot his eyes open instinctively. The boys were on either side of the bed and they threw their arms around Bakugo, careful with his injuries. Bakugo relaxed seeing it was just his friends, and he simply held them as well, sobbing so much that an ache in his chest was now there. The sight made Aizawa ashamed of himself. He couldn't believe he couldn't save Bakugo sooner, the experience traumatized him and changed him. But all that mattered was that he was back now, and they would all help Bakugo recover, however long that took.

The blonde teen was in the hospital for a week, and by then, everyone knew of Bakugo's return. The next day, the police contacted Bakugo's parents and they all immediately rushed to the hospital.

Bakugo's parents took it hard. Mitsuki was angry, but didn't blame the teachers at UA. Everyone was heartbroken when Bakugo's mom and dad finally reunited with their son. They were devastated to see how badly injured he was and were shocked to see how different his behavior had been. Mitsuki only raised her voice once, and it was towards the doctors after hearing that they restrained him again during the night due to his nightmares.

Bakugo's reaction to this made Mitsuki devastated; she had to take a moment alone realizing she can't scream around Bakugo since it sent him into a panic. She was angry and just sad to see how this changed Bakugo.

"Mom," Bakugo said softly, his voice not as hoarse. Mitsuki was now cautious around her son, something she didn't mean to do, only that she didn't want to freak him out.

"I still want to be a hero."

"Katsuki," Mitsuki was astounded. Though he seemed more timid, he seemed sure of himself. "You're serious?"

"I know I fell behind," Bakugo sighed. "But this doesn't change what I want to do."

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard right now," Masaru said consolingly. "It's only your second night here, you don't need to think about anything like that right now-"

"I want to do this," Bakugo said firmly, but keeping his head down. "I can do this...I need to do this. I want to save them."

"Save who?" Mitsuki asked cautiously. Bakugo sighed, finally meeting his parents eyes.

"Everyone."

Bakugo's rescue was all anyone was talking about at school. Word got out that a group of students aided in his rescue. People speculated who might've been part of the mission, especially Class A.

"Alright, you have to tell us!" Aido begged in front of Izuku's desk. "You two must've been on the student team to rescue Bakugo!"

"It's a maybe on Kirishima, but I know for a fact you had to have been on the team!" Kaminari speculated. All of the students who weren't on the mission couldn't deny it, they were all curious.

"I'm sure Aizawa will make some sort of announcement later." Tokayami suggested. "He was on the mission too."

"But you must've seen him! Is he okay?"

Flashes of the horrors that Kontororu instilled in Izuku's mind surfaced. The green haired teen spaced out, stuck remembering the tortures he was shown due to the villains quirk. He couldn't sleep last night, the images made him sick. He figured it must be an after affect of the villains quirk, but he can't imagine if he felt this bad after being under that quirk only once how Bakugo is able to handle it. He couldn't.

He saw again the image that the villain showed him and immediately he felt nauseous. He looked down at his desk and everyone who had been watching saw his demeanor change.

"Midoriya, are you alright?" Iida asked when suddenly the door slid open. All of the students gasped, and Izuku was shocked out of his trance.

"All Might!" They all exclaimed.

"Everyone to your seats." He said calmly, everyone quickly did as they were told. Izuku felt horrible, the last time he saw All Might he lied that he was fine and then ran off to the villains hideout. He grimaced seeing All Might didn't make eye contact with him.

"I'll be taking over for Aizawa for today only. He will be back tomorrow. You will finish your classes as scheduled this week, with Winter break starting in two days, you will resume your studies after we return in the new year. Any questions?"

"All Might," Tsu raised her hand. "Could you please tell us if Bakugo is okay?" They were all concerned for their classmate. Going for months with him not in class, they all in a way did miss his explosive attitude. All Might sighed heavily, and Izuku held his breath not sure what to do.

"That is exactly why I am here," All Might said calmly. "To inform you since you may hear false things from the media who, as you've seen has been making many speculations. As aspiring heroes, you need to understand that this is sensitive information and I'll tell you only what you need to know. In regards to Bakugo, he is in recovery from his injuries. Thanks to our own Recovery girl, he should be healed completely in two days, then go into physical therapy. When winter break ends, Bakugo shall be rejoining Class A."

There were many happy sighs of relief hearing that Bakugo would be returning. However, the teens that were on the rescue mission lowered their heads, thinking about the last time they saw Bakugo and the sad state he was in.

"I must caution you, and you will be reminded before his return...Bakugo has endured a lot. I urge you all to not bombard him upon his return and allow him to open himself to you all. This is going to be a tough adjustment, but we must all be supportive."

At this, the class tried their best to pay attention, but their minds swirled, curious and sad thinking what Bakugo might have endured. The rest of the day, rumors spread around quickly on some of the things Bakugo faced. Izuku became restless; the doctors wanted no visitors for the next three days as Recovery girl worked with Bakugo on healing him. It was only during when Bakugo had to go into physical therapy were visitors allowed in.

"Very good!" The nurse encouraged as Bakugo released the support beams. "You've made such great progress in a matter of days!"

Bakugo was covered in sweat as his hand pressed against the wall, supporting him. He looked in the reflection of the mirror and barely recognized himself. His hair was back to its regular length, still spiky but a bit more tamed. He didn't really have any motivation to style it. With not being on his right foot for so long, it was almost like learning how to use his new muscles as well as walk.

"I say you passed this level of your rehab, so I'm going to clear you, alright?"

Bakugo turned back to the nurse and nodded. The lady simply smiled as Aizawa entered the room.

"She's right you know, very impressive," He noted taking cautionary steps. Aizawa had grown accustomed to announcing himself before entering as to not startle Bakugo. The teen felt comfortable around certain people given time, but Aizawa knew it wasn't something he could push, since Bakugo was just beginning to get comfortable being around him. He also got used to the fact that he was more quiet, which in the beginning was a hard adjustment to remember.

"The next phase would be doing extra training with me, focusing on your quirk and combat."

"Extra lessons?" Bakugo asked calmly. His voice was back, but his tone was softer, no trace of venom in it.

"Both Class 1-A and 1-B have advanced and gotten their provisional hero licenses," The pro reminded him. "The school is offering you a month to prep for you to be able to take the exam. I'm aware it's not a lot of time-"

"I can do it." Bakugo said instantly. He sounded sure of himself, but not in his used to be confident way. Aizawa grimaced, despite being proud of his attitude.

"The test was a huge testament to the road of being a hero," He warned. "I can't say for certain what it will be like for you since the test changes each time. Not only did they have to face each other, but they also had to rescue mock civilians and face off against some pro's who were mocking being villains." Bakugo clenched his knuckles tight, looking down at the ground as his mind drifted back to his capture. Facing villains, even if it was just a test, he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Bakugo," Aizawa called out to him, snapping out of his thoughts. His crimson eyes looked up as Aizawa looked back in determination. "You still want to be a hero, right?"

"Yes, I do." Bakugo said firmly.

"Then with my extra lessons, you still have a chance. I can't guarantee you it will be easy, especially with how much time we have and with what you have been through. But I assure you, you will be stronger for it." Bakugo only thought of moving forward. He couldn't deny he was scared, but he had a new motivation driving him forward.

"Let's get started then." He said with a soft smile, the first he made since his rescue.

 **I WILL BE BACK. More chapters to come! How will he do on his extra lessons? How will Class A adjust? The villains aren't done with him yet! Stay tuned everyone!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AAAAAAND i'm back once more! Thank you all so much for the feedback! It's greatly appreciated. There's more to come guys!**

 **Chapter 8: A Stranger at School**

 **Song: Hold On - Chord Overstreet**

"You'll be alright kid," Mitsuki smiled sadly as Aizawa gathered the rest of Bakugo's belongings. It sounded more like she was trying to assure herself of her words; it took a bit of convincing to allow Bakugo to live in the dorms in UA. "You'll see."

"I know Mom," Bakugo's voice was finally back to it's normal tone, though not in the venomous type of way. For the young blonde, he was almost relieved to be on the dorms in UA, knowing it's security measures to keep all the students safe. But mostly, he didn't want his parents to feel guilty anymore about his capture. "This will help with my training too."

After his physical therapy came Aizawa's offer to train Bakugo and the many days that he trained with him to get his physical fitness back. It was definitely hard, being out of shape for so long, a lot of it was exercises to get his body back in proper fighting shape. Now with winter break over, the young teen was ready for a change of pace, but he couldn't help but be nervous over what his class would say, how people would treat him. He wasn't sure if he could handle crowds yet either, he refused to go out in public during the winter break unless it had to do with training with Aizawa. None of the other teens were able to visit over the break since many were off on their work studies. It be the first time he saw all of them since they last were in the hospital.

"It'll be alright, I assure you." Aizawa reasoned as he walked up after putting the last of the bags in the car. "I'll be overseeing his transition into the dorms personally."

"He's in good hands, I know that." Mitsuki smiled. Bakugo just nodded and lowered his head numbly.

"I'll text you later when I'm more settled, promise."

"Alright kid." Mitsuki hesitated, but then gently pulled Bakugo into a hug. He tensed at first on the action, something he now always did whenever there was any sort of physical contact with another person. But he relaxed instantly and hugged his mother, a sight that now Aizawa was used to. "Go be a hero."

Bakugo gave a firm nod with a soft crooked smile, finally turning with Aizawa to head to UA. They got into the car in silence as Bakugo couldn't help but grow even more nervous about his first day back. As the drive grew longer, Bakugo stared out the window as he concentrated on his breathing.

"Relax," Aizawa reminded him. Bakugo snapped out of his thoughts when Aizawa pointed to his knee. Bakugo grimaced realizing he was tapping his foot the whole time. "It's okay to be nervous. Just try to take it a step at a time. Everyone there is here to help you adjust."

"Maybe that's it." Bakugo said with a minor tone of snark. "I feel like everyone is going to tiptoe like I'm too damaged or something."

"To be fair," Aizawa sighed deeply. "You went through a lot. While no one can truly understand that yet, they just want to not overwhelm you. But you can't rush your feelings and think you're fully ready for this despite the progress you made in training." Over winter break, Bakugo definitely pushed himself, mostly focusing on getting his technique back. It was there, just not as aggressive as before.

"I can do this." Bakugo whispered to himself. Aizawa nodded, placing a soft hand on Bakugo's shoulder. It was a motion that still made Bakugo tense up, but he didn't mind it to be honest. It took a bit for Bakugo to open up his trust for a while, and thinking about it more it actually made him nervous about going through his day by himself. He didn't want to seem weak in front of everyone, but he couldn't help but feel small.

"You can," Aizawa said as they pulled up to the school. "But just like in training, don't assume you need to be the best immediately. You'll catch up."

As they grew closer, Bakugo grimaced thinking about the millions of faces that he would have to see. He wanted to be able to do something as simple as go to school, but he wasn't sure he was going to be able to do that.

"I can't believe Bakugo is coming back today!" Sero cheered as all the students began walking towards school. "It'll be great to have him back!"

"Hang on guys," Kirishima tried to usher everyone. "All Might said we need to take it easy on him remember? He needs to readjust-"

"We should throw him a surprise party!" Mina offered excitedly. "Boost his spirits!"

"I honestly don't think that's a good idea," Izuku said sadly. "I just don't think he'd respond well to it." All the other students who weren't on the mission, not at their fault, didn't see what the big deal was but decided to just respect Izuku's thoughts. It didn't take them long to figure out who in their class were part of the rescue mission, but only Uraraka told them what they needed to, not exactly sure what all she could say without getting in trouble.

"Well, let us know what we can do for him then." Mina tried again still with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, anything Bakugo needs, we're on it!" Kaminari added.

Izuku smiled then, but couldn't help but be worried for the day. He couldn't blame the rest of the class, they had to see Bakugo to understand that he's different. Then again, he hadn't seen him since that night at the hospital, he wasn't sure then where things were going to stand at that point. Plus he did hear from All Might that he had been training all break with Aizawa, all these thoughts were swirling in his head making him not realize he was muttering the whole time.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said calmly, Izuku screeched in embarrassment. "You were muttering again."

"Oh crap, I'm sorry!" This made everyone relax completely. None of them needed to say it out loud, but along with being happy Bakugo was back, it was great to see Izuku acting normal again.

Bakugo was surprised to see how the dorms were set up, but also thankful none of the other students were present when he showed up. He took his time to set up his room, plastering some posters his mom got, even had to have one of All Might (only one though). He went into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, mentally preparing himself for the day. It was crazy he didn't quite feel comfortable in his own skin. He mustered up his courage to finally leave the room and follow Aizawa to the school.

He heard the loud bell ring, the sound startling him a bit at first. He lowered his head in embarrassment at the action, ashamed he barely recognized the sound of the bell. Aizawa pretended not to notice as the two approached the backside where Principal Nezu was waiting with a smile.

"Aizawa. Katsuki Bakugo, it's great to see you back at school. On behalf of everyone of the staff and faculty, welcome back."

"Th-thank you sir." Bakugo said softly. Aizawa called a faculty meeting to inform the staff on Bakugo's behaviors. He urged them all to not bombard them and keep their distance at first and not talk too loudly.

"I just wanted to greet you before you headed off to class," The small principal smiled. "And I also wanted to remind you that if you need anything, you are more than welcome to reach out to any of us. And I understand Aizawa continued to go through some extra lessons before your make up licensing exam correct?"

Bakugo couldn't bring himself to talk yet. He already felt a lump in his throat as well as his palms begin to sweat. He kept his eyes lowered, hesitating before bringing himself to speak.

"Yes sir," Bakugo forced out softly. "I still want to be a hero, and I know I have a it of catching up to do."

"All in your own time Bakugo," The principal tried to assure him. "The curriculum we added for you is to ensure you will be up to speed at a reasonable time. Starting tomorrow, you will have early morning endurance and basic work-out training then you will go through your school day as normal. Following that, you will join Aizawa in extra curricular studies to catch up on what you missed then go into combat practice. While you do have your licensing test coming up, I urge you to focus on what you need to now, and in doing so you'll be prepared enough for the exam."

Bakugo mustered the will to look up and meet the principals eyes. He relaxed a bit seeing the sincerity in his tone. He had a hard time remembering what he thought of the principal before his encounter. Not remembering bothered him a bit. The young blonde nodded, straightening his back through nervous shivers.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I won't fail."

"And I look forward to seeing your progress." Principal Nezu smiled. Seeing Bakugo relaxed, he assured the teen throughout the halls, talking about his new routine in greater length. Though both teachers knew that the young blonde seemed more anxious the closer he got to Class 1-A.

Izuku was bouncing his leg anxiously in his seat.

Well, everyone was. For the teens who were on the rescue mission, they inwardly braced themselves not knowing how Bakugo was handling things mentally. What made it worse was they hoped that the rest of Class A would understand that space was needed for Bakugo. And it also tore them up, dreading the rest of the class' realization that Bakugo isn't and won't be the same as before.

Kirishima couldn't help but fidget with his fingers, anxious as Lady Midnight began their first class. They all waited to see when Bakugo would be joining them, but the redhead just wanted to see him again. He couldn't handle how broken he was the last time, it made him feel powerless since there was nothing he could do to take that feeling of fear away from Bakugo.

But he vowed to do better. He and Izuku gave each other a knowing look on their way to class earlier that if Bakugo needed space or them, that they'd do whatever he needed. All of Class A's thoughts were elsewhere as Midnight went on with her lecture.

Bakugo's palms ached as his knuckles tightened seeing the door to Class 1-A. He wasn't entirely sure he could do this, it felt weird trying to do normal things after months of...he shook off his dark thoughts as Principal Nezu gave an enthusiastic goodbye. He walked a pace behind Aizawa before he stopped right at the classroom entrance. His hand reached up to the handle, but he hesitated before dropping it to his side.

Bakugo clenched his fists tightly as he stared at the ground; he swallowed deep as he felt his breath hitch. He changed his mind, he wasn't sure if he was ready for this.

"You got this." Aizawa said simply as he stepped forward and opened the door. Bakugo gulped as he heard multiple gasps: Class A beamed when they saw their sensei enter the room. Bakugo stared at the ground, following Aizawa to the center front. For the teens who were part of the rescue team, they all held their breath not knowing what to expect while the rest of the class all smiled wide seeing their classmate in front of them once more.

A stern look from Aizawa once the two were centered put them all on edge. They all remembered All Mights words in that moment:

 _He's not the Bakugo you remember._

"Thank you Lady Midnight," Aizawa said firmly. "Class is going to resume as scheduled. I'll see you all later this afternoon for Hero Course. Take your seat Bakugo."

Bakugo was thankful in that moment that Aizawa didn't make a fuss, but in the midst of all of it, his eyes shot wide in panic...he forgot what seat was his. He gulped as he clenched his fists and stared hard at the ground. He felt his pulse quicken; his chest pounding wildly and fiercely. Izuku recognized the signs of a panic and stood up immediately in his chair.

"I saved your seat Kachaan." Izuku said lightly with a smile. All of class 1-A held their breath, not used to seeing Izuku being so upfront with talking to Bakugo.

 _What is he doing! Bakugo's gonna reem him!_

At the call of Izuku, Bakugo looked up and met his eyes. Bakugo gulped as he forced his legs to move, walking calmly over to the seat in the front row before Izuku.

"Thanks Deku." Bakugo said softly.

 _He was okay with that!?_

Bakugo didn't look back, he could feel everyone's eyes staring at him, so he just simply looked down at his desk. He took some calm breaths which Izuku recognized as Bakugo trying to calm down. He couldn't believe it, he didn't remember which desk was his...what made it worse was he barely recognized a lot of his classmates in their seats. He forgot where they all sat, they all seemed like strangers to him.

"Now, to continue with our lesson."

The rest of class went on as usual, though now everyone tried sneaking glances over at Bakugo. Izuku resisted the urge to talk to Bakugo during the class since he didn't want to overwhelm him. Unfortunately after this class was lunch since Bakugo missed the earlier courses.

The bell soon went off, startling Bakugo again. Only Izuku noticed, but the blonde grimaced, looking down as the rest of the class slowly gathered their belongings for lunch. Truth be told, all of them went slower than usual, waiting to see what Bakugo would do. Kirishima shot a look to Izuku, silently asking if it was alright for him to go over there. Izuku shrugged not knowing what to do, he didn't want to overwhelm Bakugo, but leaving him alone felt wrong too.

"Deku?"

Izuku looked down to see Bakugo looking up finally. While Recovery Girl did an excellent job with Bakugos wounds, Izuku had a quick flash of seeing how broken he looked before. He blinked hard and saw Bakugo sitting there, no wounds to be seen, just staring up calmly at him.

"What are you eating for lunch?" Bakugo asked softly. Izuku smiled softly, figuring Bakugo didn't remember where it was. To Bakugo's dismay, Izuku was right, but the green haired boy knew how to not point it out so Bakugo wouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed.

"I actually packed myself a lunch today," Izuku smiled. "But Kirishima mentioned he brought ya something earlier." As on cue, Kirishima walked over proudly as the rest of the class pretended not to listen in.

"It was no big deal honestly," Kirishima grinned. "I was planning on getting something as well, it'll be my treat. Sound good?"

Bakugo nodded softly, then put his head down, something he always seemed to do now the others noticed.

"Awesome bro." Kirishima said casually. "What do ya say we all sit together with everyone?"

Bakugo took a deep breath. He thought of who he wanted to become. He tried remembering if any of his classmates treated him poorly, but nothing came to mind. He can't recall feeling like any of them weren't genuine, but it was too long ago it felt like to remember. Bakugo looked up finally, meeting Kirishima's eyes. He gave a small crooked smile, surprising everyone who was watching.

"That sounds nice actually."

Class A smiled as they hurried out of the room, eager to spend lunch with their classmate.

"Let's hurry to get a huge section so at least we all can sit close together!" Mina cheered as she, Sero, Kaminari, and Kagure rushed down the hall.

"This is gonna be great Ashido!" Kaminari smiled.

While everyone made their way ahead of Kirishima, Bakugo, and Izuku, they boys were eager to make Bakugo's first day back go as smoothly as possible.

"Pretty boring class though, right Midoriya?" Kirishima said with a smile.

"History is fascinating when it comes to Hero information, but yeah it was pretty boring today."

"Still, can't wait for Hero 101 today! I wonder what we'll be doing for the start of this new unit."

"It'll be great, right Kachaan?" Izuku beamed, earning another half crooked smirk from the blonde.

"I think so." Bakugo replied simply.

The atmosphere changed as all of the students began exiting their classrooms. They all plain as day heard the mumblings throughout the halls, Bakugo suddenly becoming anxious. Kirishima and Izuku shared a glance, feeling the same as they became more worried for Bakugo. The blonde winced hearing the echoing words down the hall.

 _It's the kid! The one who was kidnapped by the league of villains._

 _Can't believe he survived._

 _What do you think the villains did to him?_

It was all anyone was talking about. As they continued down the hall, none of the other students did much to hide their stares at Bakugo. The blonde picked up his pace, not really looking where he was going, Izuku and Kirishima trailing behind with worry.

"Wh-why don't we eat outside instead?" Kirishima tried with a smile.

"Y-yeah, the weather is nice outside!"

Bakugo looked up to meet Kirishima's reassuring smile when suddenly, Bakugo ran into another student. He looked up, palms clenched in embarrassment to see Nieto Monoma laughing profusely.

"This is what has become of the supposedly top ranking student at the entrance exam?" Monoma laughed deeply. "If this is your top student, then Class A you're done for!"

"Knock it off," Bakugo said lowly. He didn't remember being too fond of Monoma, but he definitely wasn't taking his shit either. Still, his voice didn't match his emotions, not holding the same viper quality to it.

"Yeah, now is not the time or place." Kirishima grunted with annoyance.

"You had all talk saying you're going to be number one but look at you," Monoma sneered with a devious smile. "That's twice now that a villain has gotten his hands on you and you couldn't do a thing."

The words triggered something in Bakugo, something none of the teens were prepared for. Bakugo's mind flashed back to his time with the Fuzen Brothers. He suddenly wasn't in the cafeteria...but back in the room full of red. Bakugo's breaths began to hitch, the same cold freezer air sending chills down his spine. He wasn't safe...his eyes widened at the hot breath that came from behind him.

"I finally got my hands on you again." Kontororu cackled.

"Kachaan-"

"DON'T!" Bakugo screamed, winding his hand back to defend himself. He felt his quirk ignite just a little bit. He didn't think, his only thought was that he had to get away. He felt something catch his fist and he panicked.

"Bakugo!" Kirishima called out.

The blond blinked once, seeing Kirishima had activated his quirk gripping Bakugo's fist in his hand. Kirishima's eyes were filled with worry as Bakugo realized what happened. His eyes widened then as Izuku attempted to reach out.

"Bakugo-"

But it was too late. Bakugo turned back the other way and rushed down the hall, averting everyone's eyes as he tried to get out of sight. Not too many people saw, but it was enough to spread rumors like rapidfire.

"Kachaan, wait!" Izuku called out before turning back to Monoma who stood uncharacteristically dumbfounded at what he saw. He saw the fear and torment in Bakugo's eyes in that instant. All three of them did, and it shook them all to their core. Izuku turned to Monoma, grunting at Monoma who still wasn't moving.

"I don't know why you have a grudge against our class that we didn't ask for," Izuku raised his voice. "But that was low even for you."

Izuku took off then after Bakugo with Kirishima close in tow. The copy cat quirk teen lowered his head, for once regretting his words against the former explosive teen.

 **I'LL BE BACK! See ya on the next update! More to come!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back once more! Thank you all so much for the feedback! It's greatly appreciated. There's more to come guys!**

 **Chapter 8: I Want to Be A Hero**

 **Song: Bruises - Lewis Capaldi**

Bakugo hurried off, not exactly sure where he was going. He kept his head down as he avoided eye contact with everyone he passed by. His heart was pounding rapidly when he saw the boys bathroom symbol. I ushered himself in, thankful the place seemed vacant. He locked himself in one of the stalls, crouched on the floor as he struggled to breathe.

He could feel the chill of the freezer on his skin. The hot breath of the eldest Fuzen brother behind him as if he was actually there. He tried reminding himself it wasn't real, that he's just at school. It took him a bit to catch his breath, finally evening out his breathing. He clenched his eyes shut in embarrassment.

"So much for a smooth first day." Bakugo cursed to himself.

"Bakugo?" A familiar voice echoed in the bathroom. Out of pure instinct alone, the blonde teen held his breath, until it registered in his mind he wasn't in any sort of danger. He slowly picked himself up, shaking off his emotions before opening the stall door. Todoroki was a right at the entrance, a calm expression on him.

Bakugo just stared at him; Todoroki half expected some sort of snarky comment to come out, but nothing surfaced.

"I saw you rush in here." Todoroki said calmly. He didn't know what to say after that, not wanting to pry and not really sure how to handle this.

"I'm fine." Bakugo said softly. He lowered his head and went to wash his hands. Todoroki knew better than to push, but he saw how he wasn't really convincing on his words. So he tried another tactic.

"We will be doing combat training in class today," Todoroki said evenly. "You feel ready for it?" Bakugo shut off the water, not saying much. In the reflection of the mirror, the hot-cold teen saw the worried look in his eyes. He even saw the traces of scars and burn marks peeking out from under his sleeves. He remembered the night they found him, there were plenty more. He knew there were some that probably wouldn't go away.

"Does it bother you?" Todoroki asked simply. "My scar?"

Bakugo tensed up. He remembered vaguely then, the sports festival. He had listened in on Todoroki explaining to Izuku on how he got the burn over his eye. The blonde looked up, seeing that it was now Todoroki's turn to avoid eye contact.

"It used to bother me," He said truthfully, finally looking up again. "The endless staring. But I believe it's part of me now. I'm stronger for it."

Bakugo didn't remember anything remotely bad about Todoroki, but he thought he sensed a lot of competitiveness with him. It was hard to say, he didn't quite remember. He thought about his own scars that won't leave his body, from what he endured. He didn't give much thought about what he would do if someone saw his scars. But in a way, he was thankful Todoroki told him this. The blonde nodded in understanding at what Todoroki was trying to do.

Satisfied with the response, Todoroki turned on his heel to head back out of the bathroom.

"You should eat lunch." Todoroki said simply. Bakugo grimaced, looking down at the floor. He turned facing him, just nodding finally meeting the teen's eyes. Todoroki understood silently as the two of them walked out of the bathroom together. The half hot, half cold teen recognized Bakugo's distant look; it was similar to how he was when Endeavor "trained him" when he was younger. But he could already tell Bakugo endured much worse than he's trying not to let on.

"Bakugo!" Kirishima called out. The blonde winced a little, but relaxed recognizing Kirishima's voice. The two turned to see Izuku and Kirishima running towards them, both out of breath from looking for their friend everywhere.

"I'm so sorry man," Kirishima said sincerely. "We should just go somewhere more private."

"And the rest of the class?" Todoroki asked.

"We ran into Momo on the way here, she said she'd tell everyone else and that they'd understand," Izuku said with a trying smile. "Everyone will understand. It's honestly whatever you want Kachaan."

The boys all agreed to just spend their remainder of time eating outside away from everyone. They all respected Bakugo's silence, Kirishima and Izuku carrying the conversations with Todoroki chiming in slightly. While he wasn't saying much, they could all tell Bakugo was more relaxed. In truth, the blonde was thankful for thm; they weren't trying to be overbearing, but they were just there. It was nice.

The bell rang, once again startling Bakugo; he cringed while the others pretended not to notice, which he was thankful for. They all made it back to class for Hero studies, everyone smiling when seeing Bakugo enter again. As eager as they were to talk to them at lunch, they all knew to keep some distance after Kendo apologized to all of them after hearing what Monoma said to their classmate.

"Alright everyone, enough lecture," Aizawa said calmly. "Time to revisit some fundamentals. We're going to head to the training grounds and revisit your training. Partner combat exercises."

There were many cheers from the class, and the blonde couldn't help but be nervous. He hadn't been with the class in a while, he knew all eyes would be on him. The training with Aizawa helped, but suddenly he felt self conscious about his abilities. Just how far behind did he fall because of his-

-he couldn't finish the sentence as he clenched his eyes shut. He gulped trying to supress the bad thoughts away again.

"Breathe."

Bakugo snapped up his head seeing Aizawa standing at the door of the classroom. All of the other students chatting away waiting outside. The room was empty, Bakugo grimaced as he hurried out of his seat.

"Sorry, sensei." Bakugo whispered.

"Just relax, and do your best," Aizawa said calmly. "This is just to see where your at. Don't beat yourself over the results. Got it?"

Bakugo didn't look up, Aizawa stopped him from leaving. The blonde looked up meeting Aizawa's gaze.

"You still want to be a hero?"

"Yes," Bakugo said a bit more loudly, but with more confidence. "I'm still going to be a hero." Aizawa smirked; everytime he asked Bakugo that question, the blonde answers with no hesitation. It's the only thing he's certain of. Aizawa nodded his head as Bakugo walked out the door.

Bakugo walked silently next to Kirishima while everyone talked among themselves silently checking in on their blonde classmate. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Izuku stood by the door and heard Bakugo's words. His drive to become a hero hasn't changed; Izuku couldn't help but be motivated and happy to know that.

***ELSEWHERE***

"I miss our play thing." A snarling Buki groaned in the hideout. The villains were all separated, leaving just the Fuzen Brothers alone in an abandoned warehouse in a distant city. The eldest brother, Kontororu, smirked as he picked up a newspaper. He huffed as he looked at Bakugo's picture on the front page; the title in all caps saying "MISSING UA STUDENT RESCUED"

"Me too brother," Kontororu sneered. "Me too."

 **TO BE CONTINUED.**

 **Can't promise when, but I will! Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back once more! Thank you all so much for the feedback! It's greatly appreciated. There's more to come guys!**

 **Chapter 9: So Much For a Smooth First Day**

 **Song: I Found by Amber Run**

Izuku was in hopeful spirits as class 1-A neared the training area. He was impressed and quite honestly, inspired by Bakugo. No hesitation was heard when he declared he still wanted to be a hero. Izuku couldn't help but smile at the prospect on how far Bakugo would move forward. Despite the hardships Bakugo went through, he was happy to see that determination himself. He knew that if Bakugo reached out or needed him, he'd be there. Though it still was weird to him that Bakugo would ask for his assistance or even allow him to help thus far, he was more than willing to do so.

Bakugo kept his mind only on one thing, he wanted to be a hero. He still wants to be like All Might, and he wants to save people, more than anything.

The class split up to go to their respective locker rooms and Bakugo felt a wave of queasiness. The boys without a second thought began to change in their superhero outfits. His earlier conversation with Todoroki entered his brain; he was aware of his scars that wouldn't leave his back, chest, or neck. The blonde suddenly became more self conscious about himself as the other boys tossed jokes and excited energy's about the rest to come. Bakugo grimaced as he looked for his locker...not remembering which one it was, not what his combination would be.

He turned on his heel and went into the bathroom, not wanting to have to face the embarrassment of not remembering certain things about his school life. He didn't want to panic like he did about not knowing where his seat was. It frustrated him that he felt this way, but he couldn't help the anxiousness sinking in. It's the little moments like this that he feels like he'll never catch up, all because he was…

"Hey Bakugo!" Kirishima called out, placing his hand on his shoulder. At the action, Bakugo winced pulling himself out of the hold. Kirishima tried to hide the hurt and guilt in his eyes at Bakugos action with a goofy grin. Bakugo grimaced, but tried returning a half crooked smile.

"I uh, got you your clothes from the office earlier. The school umm.." Kirishima spaced out. How does he say that authorities wanted to give up on their search for him and cleaned out Bakugos locker? The rest of the boys in the locker room pretended not to be listening in, Izuku stuck his head in his locker just to hide how sick to his stomach he suddenly got. "We'll go after class together and get a new locker assignment for ya. What do you say man?"

Bakugo wasn't dumb, he knew there had to have been some changes since he was gone. Part of him figured some people gave up on him, he almost gave up as well. He forced a smile however and nodded at the red head who beamed at the response.

"Awesome bro! Well I'll let you get changed and then you and I will dominate today!"

"Sounds good." Bakugo forced out making everyone relax. The blonde changed in the bathroom stall which no one seemed to mind or question. The redhead waited patiently for Bakugo to finish up, the two walking out in brighter spirits.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Izuku was trying to contain himself. Menacing words swirled around his head, he could feel the heat of the eldest Fuzen brother on his forehead.

 _You care about him don't you?_

Izuku gulped seeing the flashes of the red room enter his brain again. It all felt so real, and he only had one taste of the traumatizing quirk.

 _What do you think of my favorite room? Would you like to see-_

"Midoriya?"

Izuku snapped out of his thoughts as he met Todoroki's eyes. The teen was shocked to see how terrified and sick to his stomach Izuku was. The freckled boy gulped as he stood up, shaking off the memory of the quirk.

"S-sorry Todoroki-kun. I-I just needed a min-minute-"

"It's worse than I thought, isn't it?" Todoroki said fiercely. "The quirk he had you under?" Izuku held his breath, not sure he was hearing his friend correctly.

"What do you mean?"

"Midoriya, I saw you pinned down that night," Todoroki said softly. There was anger and worry in his eyes that made Izuku gulp. "I saw how Bakugo reacted to that villain. I heard what he said to you when he put you under his quirk. I saw you…" Even he couldn't finish the sentence. Izuku lowered his head as he struggled with his own emotions.

"Just hearing from Kirishima that the school basically gave up his locker just upset me is all." Izuku forced out. He didn't think he convinced Todoroki, he wouldn't have believed him either.

"You should talk to someone about what you went through-"

"What I went through was nothing!" Izuku croaked out. His green eyes were watery sending Todoroki to shock. "It was just once for me, but Kachaan- He- I shouldn't be the one needing help, he needs it more than I do! I can't imagine how hard this is for him, I see him breaking down inside and the fact that he's trying to put on a brave face for everyone!? And what I saw I- I can deal with it. But Kachaan needs is right now more than anything. I need to be strong for him since he's so insistent on being strong for everyone else! What I saw...what he went through was I can only imagine 10 times worse...and it's inspiring yet so horrible that he wants to play it off like he's fine but he's clearly not. And who am I to break down about what-what I went through-wh-when he-"

Izuku didn't want to break down now, he felt like he had no right to. The fact that Bakugo was holding it together better than he was considering the circumstances made Izuku want to be better. He wanted to be strong for Bakugo. The green haired teen shook off his emotions forcing a determined smile on his face.

"I'm really fine," Izuku forced out. "Today is about making sure Kachaan gets through his first day, helping him adjust if he needs us!"

Todoroki didn't want to pry, but he nodded in understanding. It unnerved him seeing how shaken up Izuku was when he mentioned the villains quirk. The fact that he left this much after damage to him...it did make him wonder how Bakugo was able to handle this.

He hated to admit it, but Izuku was right. The focus is on Bakugo, and helping him. Bakugos went through so much worse than Izuku, but seeing the teen so traumatized by that one encounter, it only angered him to think of everything Bakugo faced.

All the teens were crowding around the UA training facility with anticipation, wondering what the day would hold in the hero course. Of course, they're always excited, but they were curious to see their top student in action from his return. Partner exercises combat training sounded simple enough, but they were waiting for the catch since there always seems to be a catch.

"All right listen up, I'll only explain this once," Aizawa said simply. "You all will be partnered up and will go head to head against each other, similar to your first training. However, you will be split off into different training areas. No fake scenarios of heroes versus villains. All you need to do within your area is find the flag and return it back to its designated home base. The duo able to do this will be the winner and not have additional homework tonight."

There were excited gasps everywhere from all the students. Kirishima cheered as he nudged Bakugo playfully. Bakugo's breath hitched slightly, but forced another crooked smile towards Kirishima. He knew he had to relax more, he just wasn't used to this again. He didn't remember hating it at all prior to his-

Bakugo snapped back into reality observing his classmates. They all seemed genuinely happy and excited. For him, he was nervous but more willing to prove himself.

"I can do this," Bakugo told himself as he looked up at the giant board that flashed who his partner was. "Just another step I have to take to be a hero." Bakugo saw that he was partnered up with Uraraka. He sneaked a glance over to see that here eyes were wide at the board. Bakugo remembered their fight, he remembered being impressed at her candor to not give up. He recalled how she helped on his rescue mission, the look in her eyes.

It was sadness, not pity he told himself. Still, Bakugo tore his glance away from the brunette. He didn't want to be seen as fragile in front of everyone, though he understood why they all felt this way. Bakugo couldn't blame them for this, but he suddenly felt small.

"One more thing. If any one holds back for _any_ reason, I will automatically fail them and give them detention. For not rising up to the standard UA should have instilled at this point in your minds at this point." Aizawa said with his dark authority. His eyes shifted to Bakugo. "Under no circumstances should I see anyone hold back the best they could bring."

"Thank you sensei," Bakugo told himself. "I can't hold back, no one else will. Despite what I went through, if I want to be a hero, I have to keep moving forward."

The blonde nodded in determination as he forced himself to move towards his partner in this exercise. Class 1-A all sneaked glances since in their eyes, Bakugo was acting out of character. Uraraka felt a tap on her shoulder, not expecting to see the blonde standing in front of her. She held her breath as Bakugo calmly opened his mouth.

"Let's strategize." Was all he said. His voice unshaking, determined.

Uraraka had to do a double take. The brunette didn't honestly know what to think when she saw her name next to his, but not this. She saw how torn up he was just only a few weeks ago at the hospital. Four months ago, his viper attitude at how he approached everything. But this, she thought was just another side to how he always was;

Determined to be a hero. The brunette just took this as his new way of approaching things because of what he endured. To Uraraka, this was still the Bakugo she always saw; a hero. Just as she was when he didn't let up on her at the Sports Festival, Bakugo inspired her. She beamed a bright determined smile, honestly surprising Bakugo.

"Lets win this, Bakugo!" She said brightly. Bakugo was relieved to see that, from what he remembered of her, she didn't change. The two walked away to talk strategy, while the rest of class 1-A all had their jaws dropped to the floor.

"He's just full of surprises today isn't he?" Tokayami said with an impressed smile.

"Did he just ask to strategize with Uraraka!?" Kaminari gushed with a smile!

"I feel like I'm not even watching Bakugo-" Mineta exclaimed.

"I keep forgetting, he's changed. All Might did say he'd be different. I can't blame him." Momo said softly. "It's still an adjustment, but I think a good one."

Izuku had a proud smile on him as he saw Bakugo and Uraraka formulate a plan. He was constantly inspired by his childhood friend, and it made him even more determined to do his best. Kirishima walked up next to Izuku, giving him a shoulder bump to snap out of his thoughts.

"What are you smiling about?" Kirishima said jokingly.

"I'm just glad to see Kachaan is determined to give it his all. It's going to be unpredictable what he's going to do."

"Well then you have a lot to prep for Midoriya!" Kirishima laughed, but he stopped once seeing Izuku's confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

"You did see who he's going up against right?" Kirishima mused. The green eyes shifted up back to the board. Izuku flushed seeing he was so concerned on who Bakugo was going to be paired up with, he didn't bother to look at who he was partnered with or going against. Izuku squealed when he found his name, making Kirishima laugh.

"N-no way!"

 _If anyone holds back for any reason, I will automatically fail them and give them detention._

Izuku gulped as he looked at Aizawa who was already staring daggers at the stammering teen. Eraserhead knew anyone who went up against Bakugo would hold back granted, but he knew Izuku and Kirishima would automatically do so. To put the two students most likely to hold back and push them would help Bakugo in his growth as well.

"Time to get to planning, and no holding back." Kirishima beamed. "For Bakugo!" Izuku gulped, knowing that he was right. Izuku gave a determined smile as the two began their fight against Bakugo and Uraraka.

"For Kachaan!"

Iida stood next to Todoroki as the rest of Class 1-A stood in the monitoring area to watch what was about to transpire. Aizawa saved the most anticipated fight for last, which didn't help ease the excited students.

"Midoriya is the first person to hold back." Sero whispered to Kaminari. "But if he does, he'll get detention."

"I'm curious to see where Bakugo is at?" Mina chimed in. "With what happened at lunch today, I heard he broke down."

"Yeah, I don't know the details, but I feel bad ya know?" Kaminari agreed.

"I heard he got some training over the break, but just where is he at? Level wise I mean?" Mineta said cautiously.

"He was number one for a reason," Jirou said with a shrug. "Maybe he'll be the same as before-"

"But he's not since he was captured-"Kaminari was cut off by Jirous slap behind the back. "Gah! That hurt!"

"I guess this will show us where he's at then huh?" Jirou said calmly. Iida and Todoroki listened in, unable to disagree with what they were saying. Everyone was anxious to see where Bakugo was at, determined to see where their number one classmate stood. Of course Bakugo shouldn't have endured what he did, but with four months gone and only two weeks to recover, no one knew just where he stood. Todoroki simply hoped for the best.

"Is everyone ready?" Aizawa called overhead as the four teens prepared on the collapsible section of the training area. Everyone gave determined nods, all four spread out over the entrances of the area.

Uraraka's first priority was finding Bakugo and to partner up. Not that she wanted to doubt him, she wasn't sure how he'd handle this. Kirishima and Izuku both struggled with wanting to hold back for their friend and failing if they did. Bakugo on the other hand, just wanted to prove his worth, that he didn't fall behind from his classmates.

"Begin!"

The four teens took off sprinting inside, everyone watching held their breath. Aizawa kept himself composed, but he was just as nervous as the rest of his students.

"Just find the flag," Izuku told himself. "Find the flag, then go back to where I came! If I find Kirishima, then we group and he will defend me and the flag. If we find Uraraka, then our best chance is to stay out of her way, don't let her touch us. But if i find Kachaan, I-I don't know how I'll-"

"Your muttering gave you away Deku!"

Izuku gasped seeing Uraraka jump from above to tackle the startled teen. Izuku dodged as she jumped down for a basic punch. Uraraka smirked as she followed Izuku who took off sprinting. He didn't want Uraraka to use her quirk on him, his only option was to try and escape. Uraraka knew she had the upper hand up close, but he was quick to respond. Izuku was running up a cement block when his foot gave way to a piece of debris.

"Oh crap!" Izuku gasped as his foot slid forward, causing him to tumble down a small hill. Izuku groaned at his carelessness as he picked himself up and kept sprinting, knowing Uraraka wasn't too far behind.

"At this point, maybe it would've been easier to go up against Kachaan!" Izuku gasped.

"He's running away?" Iida observed intrigued.

"Not much he can do," Momo reasoned. "Uraraka has the upperhand with her quirk. But I'm sure Izuku will come up with a strategy to counter her." Todoroki simply nodded at her words.

Izuku climbed into a building, catching his breath as he tried to think of how to get Uraraka pinned down somehow. He looked around his surroundings, trying to think of what he could use when it clicked. His only hope was to over exert her quirk hoping it will slow her down or make her stomach turn.

Izuku climbed higher, his head peeking out of one of the buildings when he spotted Uraraka below. The freckled teen used his quirk to smash a piece of the wall, sending it down to her below. Uraraka smirked as she activated her quirk at the falling debris around her, causing them to float, even using them to lift herself up to Izuku's level. They kept at this until finally, Uraraka was at Izuku's position.

"Got you now Deku!"

"We'll just see about that!" They both shouted with a smirk. It was like a dance, Izuku would dodge, use the debris to throw at Uraraka, she would use her quirk to counter and get closer. While it only took five minutes, it felt longer for the two. Neither let up, both of them pushing each other to keep going, earning high regard from Aizawa.

"You can't keep this up forever!" Izuku taunted playfully. "You still need to find the flag!"

"Who says I didn't already find it? Or that my partner has it already?" Uraraka challenged.

"We'll just have to see won't we!" Izuku stepped to his right, the weight not being able to hold when he felt his body fall forward. He saw Uraraka's eyes shift from a playful determination to fear seeing Izuku suddenly fall in front of her. She went to reach for him, but panicked seeing that she missed.

Everyone watching gasped at the screen as Izuku tried to think of what to do to break his fall. His eyes widened as he saw the sharp debris below him, his breath hitched thinking if he used full cowling to try and break his fall, there will still be damage.

"Deku!" Uraraka called out.

An explosion rang out to Izuku's right, and he felt a massive force slam into him. The green haired teen got winded from moving so fast, however he looked up to see crimson eyes of worry and determination staring back at him.

"K-kachaan?"

"You good?" He called out calmly as he used another explosion to launch them forward a bit more.

"Y-yeah! I'm fine now thank y-"

Suddenly, Bakugo threw Izuku to the ground. The freckled teen tumbled as Bakugo skidded to a halt before facing Izuku. He calmly raised his hand to his ear as Izuku sat up on his knees wide eyed in shock.

"What was that Kachaan!?" Izuku cried out in confusion.

"Deku's fine," Bakugo said calmly. "Go find the flag." Uraraka from where she was perched went from fear, to admiration, to complete disbelief seeing Bakugo save Izuku like that. Unbeknownst to the teens on the field, the rest of the class all had shocked expressions at what just happened.

"K-kachaan, you saved me-"

"Deku, pull yourself together." Bakugo said softly. Izuku can almost imagine how Bakugo would say it with a venomous tone before, though no trace was here now. It was more pleading.

"Fight me, and don't hold back. Please, help me."

No one watching through the monitors could hear what was being said, but they all saw the expression on their features. Without meaning to, they all held their breath. Izuku gasped at how Bakugo's voice cracked at the end.

"You were my rival growing up, so don't let up on me Deku. Give me nothing but your best!" Bakugo positioned himself ready, a smirk on his face. There was a fire in his eyes, and fear as well. Izuku understood completely, he couldn't hold back, no matter how much he wanted to.

 _Please, help me._

"You asked for it Kachaan!" Izuku smirked as he rose to his feet. "No holding back!" Bakugo showed the smallest of smiles, but Izuku saw it regardless.

"Time to prove to myself that I can do this."

 **AAAAAND I'M BACK! So, there will be another update! But idk when, but it will happen! Thank you all for your patience, please review!**

 **Those curious about "shippings" I am happy to say that I'm a multi shipper, so I hope I'm able to capture all of your preferences cause, to quote forky, "I'm trash" XD see you guys next update!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back once more! Thank you all so much for the feedback! It's greatly appreciated. There's more to come guys!**

 **Chapter 11: Kachaan vs Deku Round 2**

 **Song: Set it Off by Skillet**

"Come at me Deku." Bakugo whispered under his breath.

Izuku did just that, he charged forward with a speed that surprised the blonde. Bakugo barely reacted in time, using his backwards momentum to toss Izuku over his shoulder with his explosions. Izuku countered, using the motion to try and kick Bakugo away. This sent a wind wave startling the two. The blonde wasn't prepared as he stumbled backwards, crashing onto his back.

Izuku gasped as he powered down, immediately rushing forward to try and help Bakugo.

"Kachaan, I'm sorry! Are you alright!?" Izuku tried to offer a hand to help up Bakugo. Bakugo gripped it tight, throwing Izuku behind him. The teen slammed onto the ground gasping for air as Bakugo rose to his feet.

"Deku!" Bakugo snapped, his voice cracking, but it wasn't a sharp venomous way. His eyes pleading.

 _You should talk to someone about what you went through._

Izuku understood, Bakugo looked nervous but wanted to keep going. As much as he hated the idea of fighting him, Izuku knew he couldn't hold back. Izuku took a breath, launching himself forward startling Bakugo. He lifted his leg, Bakugo blocked the one, but ended up not seeing the other kick him in the face. He let out an explosion, blasting Izuku away from him. Both boys slid backwards away from each other, scrambling to their feet.

Izuku looked up meeting Bakugo's satisfied gaze.

He beamed as he rushed forward again, the two of them going head to head at each other. Everyone was in awe watching the two of them. Aizawa was really impressed; in their two weeks training, Bakugo was back at his normal weight and physic. Watching him fight Izuku, everyone could tell some of his moves were clumsy, but he adapted and kept pushing.

Bakugo launched himself up so he could speed down to blast Izuku. The freckled teen dodged in time, only to see another bright light. Izuku raised his elbows to brace himself for the explosion that never came. He looked up just as a fist connected to his face. Izuku gasped as he tumbled backwards. Bakugo steadied his breathing when Uraraka spoke in his ear.

"I found the flag!" She whispered. "But Kirishima is close too."

"Do what you can to get him away from it," Bakugo said calmly. "If you can't distract him, hold him off until I can come help."

"Don't you forget about me either!" Izuku hollered as he launched himself at Bakugo. He nailed him in the stomach, causing him to gasp as he tumbled backwards. "I'm not done yet Kachaan!"

Bakugo scrambled to his feet, but he was still determined.

Bakugo made the ground explode sending debris towards Deku. Bakugo used this distraction to race towards Uraraka's location, he couldn't waste more time fighting when he knew he had to win. Izuku smiled brightly as he chased after his childhood friend.

As the two made their way inside, they were neck and neck with each other. Both would land a solid blow on the other, adapting to the other. Bakugo would slip, but catch himself, still standing his ground against Izuku. Both teens were at equal stance when suddenly, a huge rupture in the building caused them to stop.

Rolling out from one of the windows was Uraraka. She was sweating heavily, from her fight earlier with Izuku to now having to deal with Kirishima. He wasn't too far behind now, they knew. Uraraka looked to Bakugo giving him a thumbs up to which he smirked in response. Izuku launched himself forward at Bakugo to which the blonde used his momentum against him.

"Too slow Deku," he said lowly, but with a hint of playfulness. Bakugo used his explosion to not only slam Izuku onto the ground, but to launch himself into the air. Kirishima tumbled out sweating, looking up at Izuku who was shaking off the last blow.

"Above us Midoriya!" Kirishima panted. It was clear he and Uraraka fought well and hard against each other. Izuku looked up to see that Uraraka used her quirk to make the flag float up into the air, all so Bakugo can use his quirk to get to it. The flag was in Bakugos hand now, and the teens watching through the monitor began to cheer for their classmate.

"We're not done yet!" Izuku exclaimed as he used his Detroit smash against one of the building debres launching it up at Bakugo while sprinting towards the exit. The blonde was barely quick enough to respond as he used his explosions to blast the debris into smaller chunks. As he landed however, he tripped over his own feet again. He scrambled up as the exit was only 10 yards away. Izuku rushed forward as his legs launched him right to Bakugo.

"I won't lose!" Izuku cried out! Bakugo smirked, taking a page out of one of Izukus earlier moves. As Izuku went forward for a punch, Bakugo used that momentum to kick Izuku upwards, sending him right out the exit. The blonde added a blast as the two both crossed the exit...Bakugo holding the flag, Izuku faced down on the dirt.

Class 1-A couldn't help it, they all started cheering for Bakugo in that moment. Uraraka and Kirishima both were sprinting towards the exit, the brunette beaming happily.

"We did it!" She cheered exhausted as Kirishima collapsed onto the ground with a smile.

"Damn Midoriya, they really made us work for a loss huh?"

"So close," Izuku groaned as he sat on his knees. "I almost had it."

"Stupid Deku." Izuku looked up to see a genuine smile on Bakugos face. The blonde was proud of himself, he did it. He truly did it. The words that escaped him were playful, not threatening which Izuku didn't mind at all. None of them did really.

"Next time, don't announce that you're coming at me." Bakugo smirked, offering a hand to Izuku. The freckled haired teen beamed, hesitating at first before accepting it, now rising to his feet.

"Next time, I'll win!" Izuku grinned. Bakugo just nodded as the four started walking back towards the rest of the class who had no rushed out of the base building. They all wished each other congratulations, especially to Bakugo. The blonde was quiet the rest of the time, but no one seemed to mind. He seemed content with himself and the class, feeling a sense of easiness with them. Much better than earlier with the rest of the school. Aizawa went over notes for each individual, finally making it to the final four.

"Kirishima and Uraraka, both of you passed since you adapted to your surroundings and kept good contact with you partners. But learn to extend the length you can both use your quirk so you don't tire yourself out and become useless in battle." The two nodded as both Bakugo and Izuku gulped when their Sensei faced them.

"And you two…sloppy."

Izuku and Bakugo both grimaced at the words, the rest of the class both surprised at the negative remark.

"Bakugo, you were clumsy on your movements, though you adapted well. Your next personal training will be on coordination and balance since that seemed to be your lacking area today. And also, next time, don't save your opponent if he ends up getting himself into trouble. Midoriya, you have no excuse for the amount of times you slipped and fell today, compromising your partner and not taking in your hostile environment. Be mindful of that next time. Other than that, both of you did well. Losing team has homework still."

The two teens nodded as Aizawa wrapped up the end of class. Everyone was still really excited about the events that took place.

The boys all non-chalantly made jokes teasing and praising each others performances during class today. Bakugo gulped however; he didn't want to shower in front of anyone. He felt his chest rise and fall quickly, he gulped as he went to his locker, pulling out his bag with trembling hands.

Yellow eyes caught on first, the lightning quirk teen frowning for his friend, but not knowing how to help without overstepping any boundaries. He glanced at Kirishima, pointing with his head over at the shaking teen. The crimson teen noticed Bakugo at his locker, quickly throwing on a shirt as he approached Bakugo with a cautious smile.

"Bakugo," Kirishima said softly with a smile. Bakugo glanced over, panic only in his eyes. Kirishima played it off with a smile, not wanting to make a big scene of it despite knowing the rest of the class were subtly peaking over. "Let's just head to the dorms."

Bakugo nodded, hastily throwing his bag over his shoulder as he and Kirishima speed walked out of the locker rooms. Once the boys left, the remaining students all frowned sadly.

"I feel awful," Kaminari slouched with a frown. "It's hard seeing Bakugo like this. I honestly can't even imagine what he's going through." All the boys nodded, feeling powerless as to how they could help their classmate. Unbeknownst to them, Izuku felt sick to his stomach at the words.

"All Might did warn that he needed to adjust" Ojiro said calmly. "But I feel you, he's not the same. I can't even imagine coming back after something like that-"

"None of us know what he really faced," Tokoyami slouched. "I feel ashamed for not really considering the true depths of it before."

"All we can do is just try to be as normal as possible around him, but keep tabs like we agreed." Iida said as a matter of factly, yet still concerned over the blonde. "And help however we can; so far at least he opened himself up more to Kirishima and Midoriya." Unbenowist to the teen, Izuku was barely keeping it together.

"Well maybe I can cook something nice for everyone tonight!" Sato said with an enthusiastic smile. "And either see if Bakugo could join us or we can have Kirishima give it to him later."

"That sounds good for tonight!" Sero beamed. "I'm sure the girls would wanna help too!"

"Girls cooking!?" Mineta went heart eyes, drooling as the other boys groaned. Everyone made their way out while Izuku finally leaned out of his locker, gasping for air.

 _You care about him don't you?_

Izuku froze at the sound of the voice echoing in his brain. He didn't know why the villains quirk was still affecting him this badly. The flashes of red in his mind, Izuku rushed to the sink hastily turning on the water.

 _What do you think of my favorite room? Would you like to see the best part about it?_

Izuku splashed the water in his face, snapping out of his thoughts. He took a minute, but finally calmed down, pulling himself together.

"I can't break down now," Izuku told himself determined. "I'm the only one who knows what that quirk did to Kachaan. I need to be strong for him!" Izuku grabbed his things and made his way back towards the dorms. He considered talking to All Might about what he's been seeing, but didn't want to out of guilt knowing Bakugo must be having trauma episodes too and he was-

Izuku shook his head not wanting to feel down about what happened. He texted Kirishima checking in to see how Bakugo was doing since they rushed out of the locker rooms.

Back at the dorms, Kirishima waited patiently in Bakugo's room; he was didn't mind waiting up for him as he showered, but it was still an adjustment since he imagined Bakugo wouldn't have let anyone into his room prior to his kidnapping.

He felt horrible, as far as first days go, it could've went better. Not with Monoma's outburst earlier and how Bakugo has just been on edge all day. As much as he felt like he did help as best he could, there's just too much that the blonde faced to immediately snap back into how it was before. Kirishima felt bad, knowing Bakugo was anxious and high alert all day.

But he forced a smile; after getting Bakugo back to his dorms, the blonde calmed down and accepted Kirishima's invitation to stay. He figured he could see if Bakugo wanted to watch a movie. It felt weird thinking Bakugo would agree to it, but he's been full of surprises today; teaming up with Uraraka, even so much as smiling. Even if it is small, it's amazing.

Bakugo shivered as he shut off the water, his initial panic died down once he and Kirishima made it back to his room. He honestly was too mentally exhausted to care what anyone else thought; he knew everyone was watching. He knew people had suspicions about what he endured, but it didn't make it any easier.

The blonde stepped out throwing on a pair of shorts then wiping the foggy mirror, still barely recognizing the reflection in front of him. With no shirt on, Bakugo grimaced as the scars that will never leave his body; the burn marks from Tomura, the stab wound, the slash marks on his back…

"You alright bro?" Kirishima knocked carefully, Bakugo gripped the sink at the sound. The blonde nodded, then inwardly groaning that no one saw that.

"Fine." He forced out, his voice no where close to convincing.

"Can I get ya anything?"

As much as Bakugo appreciated the sentiment, he grunted defeated. He hated that everyone was walking on eggshells around him. Not that he could blame them, the situation was just frustrating. And besides, what was there to say?

"Bakugo, talk to me," Kirishima tried, feeling also defeated. "Look, I can't beat around the bush anymore, but all of us were really worried about you. Last time I saw you was in the hospital after you were rescued. If you...if you want to talk about what happened, I'll listen."

Bakugo's red eyes widened suddenly feeling frustrated. Truth was he didn't know what he needed or wanted. He wanted things to go back to how they were before but he couldn't; hell he'd never let anyone in his room before, never cared much for the class truth be told… and now... Despite doing well in the class exercise today, he lost his confidence and felt so weak. He wished no one was babying him, wished he was stronger, wished he wasn't kidnapped-

Bakugo couldn't take the sight of his reflection anymore. He let his right palm soak in sweat, finally bringing a fist to the mirror. A small explosion rang out as the glass shattered to the floor. At the sound, Kirishima swung the bathroom door open, thankful none of the bathroom doors within each students room had no locks.

But at the sound of the door, Bakugo panicked. His eyes went wide with fear as he swung around to try to defend himself. Kirishima immediately regretted swinging the door open, but he clenched his hands around Bakugo's while activating his quirk. The small explosions popped off as Bakugo tried backing away out of pure instinct alone.

"STOP-"

"Bakugo it's just me!" Kirishima yelled out. It took Bakugo a quick moment to register his surroundings, the redhead felt horrible seeing Bakugo's panicked face. Kirishima slowly released as Bakugo turned away from him, hastily turning on the fossett water trying to calm down.

"I-I'm sorry." Kirishima said, feeling horrible. His eyes widened seeing the slash marks and stab wounds that permanently marked themselves on Bakugo's body. He wanted to help his friend, but he didn't know how; he wanted to try. He backed out of the room, rushing to the bedroom door, but he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"It would be unmanly of me if I left after what I did." Kirishima frowned. So instead, he just waited in the desk chair with his head down until he heard the water stop running. He slowly looked up to see Bakugo now dressed but slightly shaking. Kirishima held his breath waiting for Bakugo to say something, anything.

"You think I'm weak don't you?" Bakugo barely whispered, but the redhead still heard it. He could picture how he would've screamed those words accusatory before, but they were broken now.

"No one thinks that, not even me." Kirishima said firmly.

"Yet you all look at me like I'm this broken thing-"

"Bakugo, no one thinks that-"

"Of course you guys do," His voice was cracking now. "I hear what they're saying in the halls-"

"You can't possibly believe everyone thinks-"

"Look at me!" Bakugo spun around, eyes watery in panic. His whole frame was trembling, but Kirishima saw the marks that will never leave Bakugo's body; a constant reminder of what he endured. Kirishima frowned feeling sorry for what Bakugo has to go through. "I am weak...you all know it."

"No one thinks you're weak Bakugo!" Kirishima pleaded. "Look at you! Do you think anyone else could've survived this!?" Bakugo gulped as Kirishima continued, his voice now cracking.

"You're one of the strongest guys I know, and still are! I couldn't have endured this! But you did! And you still want to go back to school and try to put on a face like you're completely fine, we all know you're not! But that shows you how strong you are! I- I couldn't have done that." Bakugo grimaced at the words that flew out of Kirishima's mouth; the redhead caught his terrified stare as he stepped backwards ashamed. Bakugo flinched when he raised his voice, and suddenly he felt awful.

"I'm so sorry...I-I shouldn't have yelled-"

"Leave."

The words hurt Kirishima, he clenched his jaw seeing Bakugo's shaking frame. It wasn't the threatening tone; honestly that didn't bother Kirishima much months prior. This time it was numb; heartbreakingly numb. Kirishima gulped as he finally found the words that were lumped in his throat.

"Do you really want me to go?" Bakugo hesitated at the words, Kirishima just honestly felt awful. Moments passed and it felt like an eternity, but the redhead finally caved, obeying Bakugo's request. As soon as the door shut, Bakugo finally let it all flow out. His emotions he tried to keep buried flushed out as he collapsed on the floor. Bakugo didn't know what he needed or wanted. His frustrated tears of not being able to just "be over" his kidnapping made him feel small. But the ptsd haunted him; the jumpiness and constantly on edge was part of him now. He hated it, but knew he couldn't change it.

To try and ease his mind, he started reading the textbooks for his classes. Breezing through definitions and fight techniques that were beginning to feel familiar to him again. He didn't know how much time passed, so then he switched over to do his exercises Aizawa taught him; or at least what was manageable in his room. He didn't want to step out and see anyone else, and he was thankful his room had a punching bag present. Getting lost in the time again, covered in sweat once more, Bakugo grimaced thinking about how he needed to shower again.

He looked over at the shattered pieces of mirror that decorated the floor. He calmly got up and began to pick up the pieces left on the floor, dumping it in his trash can. He looked up at the cracked pieces still attached to the wall. In his reflection, he saw his mortified expression; he chewed his inner lip as he hastily grabbed at the remaining pieces, ripping them off until the wall was bare.

At this moment, he honestly hated himself.

He shook off the dark thoughts in his head and finished cleaning up. The blonde hissed at the last piece, throwing it away then quickly washing his hands. Satisfied the place was clean, he took another quick shower before changing again. He threw on grey sweatpants and his black skull t shirt. He looked at the scars that were on his arms; he knew he didn't own any long sleeves. He rolled his eyes thinking about what the others would think of his marks that reflected the torture he endured. He gave up and collapsed on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, staring at the nothingness above him that paralleled how he felt.

What a first day back.

 **That's all for now everyone! I have an end in sight, I just can't promise you when I'll update next! Stay tuned!**


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